OFTHK 


University  of  California, 

OIP^TT   OK 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALS WORTH. 


Received  October,  1894. 
fiAccessions  No,  sS^^Oy^      Class  No. 


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TTiriVBRSITTj 


DEMONSTRATION 


THE    TRUTH 


CHRISTIAN   -RELIGION. 


BY  ALEXANDER  KEITH.  D.D. 

AUTHOR  OF  "the  EVIDENCE  OF  PROPHECY,"  «&C. 

"  Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord." — Isa.  i.,  8. 
"  Where  is  the  wise  ?  where  is  the  scribe  ?  where  is  the  disputer  of  this 
world?  hath  not  God  made  foolish  the  wisdom  of  this  world?" — 1  Cok.i.,20. 


FROM  THE  SECOND  EDINBURGH  EDITION. 


X  E  W    Y  O  K  K  : 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

y  U  A  N  K  L  I  >      S  Q  U  A  K  E. 


1855. 


[TJiriVBESlTTI 


(iTt/oi 


syrey 


TO    THE     RIGHT    HONOURABLE 

LORD    BEXLEY, 

1«   TESTIMONY    OF   CHRISTIAN    ESTEEM,   AND    IN    GRATEFUL 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT    OF    PERSONAL    QUALIFICATIONS, 

THIS  TREATISE 
C»  respectfully  fnscvlfielr 

BY    HIS   lordship's    FAITHFUL    SERVANT, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


In  adducing  aad  applying  the  scriptural  prediction  and 
refutation  of  the  great  argument  which  scoffers  in  the  last 
days  have  so  strenuously  urged  against  the  credibility  of 
miracles,  the  writer  of  these  pages  intimated,  above  seven 
years  ago  (Evidence  of  Prophecy,  6th  edition),  that  it  was 
his  purpose  to  give  a  more  full  consideration  to  the  subject 
in  "  a  general  and  connected  view  of  the  Evidences  of 
Christianity,  which  he  was  preparing  for  the  press,  and 
which  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  compress  into  a  small  com- 
pass, in  the  form  of  a  manual."  His  pen,  however,  was 
of  necessity  laid  aside,  owing  to  sudden  and  continued 
illness ;  and  long  ceased  to  be,  if  it  had  ever  been,  that 
of  a  "  ready  writer."  And  it  has  only  been  at  different 
intervals  and  in  diverse  places,  to  which  the  state  of  his 
health  required  his  removal,  that  he  has  been  enabled  to 
complete  the  essay. 

Though  the  feebleness  of  the  hand  has,  he  fears,  been 
often  transferred  to  the  page,  yet  the  inadequate  advocacy 
of  the  truth  may  happily  serve  so  much  the  more  to  show 
that  the  strength  rests  solely  in  the  cause.  The  frailty  of 
an  earthen  vessel  cannot  deteriorate  from  the  preciousness 
of  the  treasure  which  it  bears.  The  author  has  simply 
sought  to  exhibit  how  speedily  and  §asily,  when  brought 
into  close  contact,  truth  triumphs  over  error.  A  "  general" 
view  of  the  evidence,  as  once  he  proposed,  he  has  not  at- 
tempted to  give.  And  that  task  is  less  needful  since  the 
recent  publication,  in  a  very  cheap  form,  of  the  excellent 
Lectures  on  the  Evidences  of  Revealed  Religion  by  minis- 
A2 


VI  PREFACE 

ters  of  Glasgow.  But  the  author  trusts  that  the  view  of  the 
Evidences  given  in  the  following  pages  will  be  found  to  be 
80  "  connected,"  that  the  relative  connexion  and  union  of 
the  separate  parts  will  prove  to  be  a  multiplication  of  the 
power  of  each,  as  the  compound  far  excels  the  simple  lever. 
And  were  it  to  be  the  instrument  of  removing  doubts  from 
the  skeptic's  mind,  and  of  confirming  the  faith  of  the  be- 
liever, the  writer  would  thankfully  yield  the  praise  which 
is  ever  due  to  the  God  of  grace  and  truth,  who  alone  can 
turn  from  darkness  to  light,  and  perfect  strength  in  weak- 
ness. 

St.  Cyrus,  July,  1838. 


CONTENTS. 

Introduction Page  13-17 

CHAPTER  I. 

Existing  Proofs  of  the  Inspiration  of  the  Jewish  Prophets    .        .      18-52 

CHAPTER  n. 

The  appropriation  of  Hume's  Arguments  against  Miracles,  as  foretold  and 
confuted  in  Scripture ;  its  Fallacy  shown  from  the  Fact  that  the  Laws  of 
Nature  are  not  unalterable,  but  have  been  altered  ;  itself  a  Proof  of  Pro- 
phetic Inspiration,  on  the  uniform  Experience  of  the  Truth  of  which  rests 
the  Testiinony  of  Jesus 52-83 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Antiquity  and  Authenticity  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  in  four 
Sections ;  concuaring  Testimony  from  universal  Tradition,  existing  Facts, 
Names  of  Cities  and  Persons,  ancient  Institutions,  &lc.  ;  Objections  drawn 
from  Geology  refuted  by  comparing  the  Mosaic  Account  of  the  Creation 
of  the  Heavens  and  the  Earth  with  the  Observations  and  Discoveries 
both  of  Astronomers  and  Geologists 83-150 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Connexion  between  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  as  shown  by  the  Tes- 
timony of  the  Prophets  to  the  coming  of  a  Messiah,  and  consequent  Ex- 
pectation of  his  coming,  throughout  the  whole  East,  at  the  Commence- 
ment of  the  Christian  Era 150-160 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Origin  and  Progress  of  Christianity,  according  to  the  Testimony  ol 
Heathen  Writers ;  Comparison  of  the  Accounts  given  by  them  with  those 
of  Scriptures 160-180 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  as  written  by  the  Evange- 
lists and  Apostles  of  Jesus.  Continuous  and  numerous  Quotations  from 
the  New  Testament  by  Christian  Writers  ;  their  Testimony  to  the  Facts 
recorded  in  Scripture,  and  its  Confirmation  by  their  Sufferings  and  Mar- 
tyrdom as  witnesses  to  the  Truth       ......  180-217 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Appropriation  of  the  Arguments  of  Celsus,  Porphyry,  and  Julian,  in  Proof 
of  the  Genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  and  the  Messiahship  of  Je- 
sus         217-261 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Of  the  Authenticity  of  the  New  Testament  Scripturo^         .  Page  261-283 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Testimony  of  the  Prophets  to  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  .  283-329 

APPENDIX 331-33« 


LIST  OF  ENGRAVINGS. 


Map,  Frontispiece,  Page 

Illustrations  of  the  Elevation  of  Strata        •. 64 

Jewish  Brickmakers 101 

Mount  Hor,  Aaron's  Tomb 102 

Arch  of  Titus   , 120 

Plate  I.  (Astronomical) 126 

H 130 

III .        .        .         .132 

Fossil  Plants         ' 136 

Do ib. 

Fossil  Tree ib. 

Plate  IV.  (Astronomical) .        .        .137 

V 139 

VI 146 


DEMONSTRATION 


TRUTH  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION 


DEMONSTRATION 


TRUTH  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION. 


INTRODUCTION. 

It  may  seem  to  be  alike  superfluous  in  itself  and  pre- 
sumptuous in  the  author  to  add  another  to  the  already  nu- 
merous treatises  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity.  It  needs, 
however,  but  little  observation  to  discern  that  the  subject  is 
far  from  being  exhausted.  Though  an  imposture  might  be 
palmed  upon  the  world,  and  many  cunning  devices  may  give 
it  the  semblance  of  truth ;  yet,  as  these  are  successively  de- 
tected and  exposed,  the  investigation  becomes  complete ;  and 
one  hollow  prop  after  another  is  subverted  by  rational  inquiry, 
till  the  whole  fabric  of  falsehood  sinks  into  the  darkness  from 
whence  it  sprung.  It  is  far  otherwise  with  truth,  which  can 
never  be  disproved.  Its  own  nature  is  not  altered,  however 
much  men  may  disguise,  misrepresent,  or  disbelieve  it.  The 
more  rigidly  and  impartially  it  is  scrutinized,  the  more  clearly 
it  is  confirmed.  Doubts  and  difficulties,  engendered  by  igno- 
rance, disappear  on  a  full  investigation.  The  refutation  of 
objections  creates  new  proof.  Whenever  conviction  is  well- 
founded  and  sure,  a  reason,  in  respect  to  evidence,  is  ready 
to  be  given  in  answer  to  every  question.  In  these  days  of 
inquiry  and  discovery,  it  has  passed  into  an  adage  or  proverb, 
that  truth  is  great  and  will  prevail.  And,  as  truth  cannot  ul- 
timately be  but  on  the  side  of  truth,  when  any  facts  are  stated 
as  militating  against  it,  their  proper  relation  to  the  subject 
has  only  to  be  established,  that  they  may  add  to  the  confirm- 
ation of  the  truth.  And,  after  all  the  labours  of  unbelievers, 
it  is  even  thus  with  the  Christian  faith.  Every  assault  has 
served  to  strengthen  it.  No  weapon  against  it  has  prospered. 
Every  renewed  investigation  has  rendered  its  evidence  more 
complete.  Time  in  its  progress  leaves  many  a  witness  on 
its  behalf;  and  while  the  corruptions  of  Christianity  may  be 
successfully  assailed,  and  their  overthrow  become  an  addi- 
tional triumph  of  the  truth  over  error,  all  the  powers  of  dark- 
B 


14  INTRODUCTiON. 

ness  cannot  prevail  against  the  light  of  the  gospel ;  but  the 
evidence  of  its  truth,  like  the  path  of  the  just  to  which  it 
leads,  is  as  the  shining  light,  that  shineth  more  and  more  unto 
the  perfect  day. 

No  sooner  was  Christianity  promulgated,  than  the  cross 
of  Christ  became  a  stumbling-block  to  the  Jews,  and  was 
accounted  foolishness  by  the  Greeks.    And,  in  the  early  ages, 
apologies,  or  pleadings  in  defence  of  its  truth,  were  written 
in.  refutation  of  the  objections  then  urged  against  it  by  the 
inveterate  hatred  of  the  Jews,  and   the  subtle  philosophy 
which  idoHzed  a  pompous  paganism,  and  scoffed  at  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  gospel.     The  arguments  of  the  first  writers 
who  publicly  attacked  it — though  known  chiefly  by  the  refu- 
tations with  which  they  were  speedily  met — have  been  as 
confidently  urged   anew,  in  modern  times,  as  if  they  had 
never  been  answered,  and  could  not  be  confuted.    And  in 
the  late  age  of  infidelity,  the  darkness  of  which  still  broods 
over  a  great  part  of  the  earth,  not  a  single  field  has  been  left 
unexplored  wherein  an  objection  could  be  gleaned ;  and  not 
an  effort,  from  the  most  refined  speculations  to  the  coarsest 
ribaldry,  has  been  untried  against  the  Christian  religion.     Its 
enemies  cannot  say  that  it  is  from  the  want  of  numerous  and 
powerful  assailants  that  it  has  remained  unshaken.     Infidel- 
ity, in  point  of  argument,  has  tried  its  worst ;  though  in  start- 
ing objections  it  has  led  to  the  production  of  evidence,  and 
in  tampering  with  facts  has  unwittingly  substantiated  the 
truth.    And,  were  it  not  that  the  praise  is  unmerited,  because 
the  service  was  unmeant,  the  friends  of  religion  might  well 
pay  as  thankful  an  acknowledgment  to  unbelievers  for  their 
abundant  and  beneficial  labours,  as  to  the  defenders  of  the 
truth,  for  the  truth's  sake,  who  need  not  the  commendation 
of  man.     But  it  were  worse  than  mockery  for  the  Christian 
to  render  thanks  to  either,  if  not  deeply  impressed  with 
heartfelt  gratitude  to  God,  who,  overruling  all  things,  brings 
good  out  of  evil,  and,  taking  the  cunning  in  their  craftiness, 
brings  light  out  of  darkness,  because,  in  his  Providence,  it 
has  happened  that  the  enemies  of  the  truth  have  ultimately 
become  its  unconscious  supporters,  and  that,  in  vindicating 
the  Christian  faith,  the  task  is  now  easy  and  the  time  of  apol- 
ogy is  past. 

From  other  causes  than  want  of  evidence,  it  may  be  as 
impracticable  as  ever  to  convince  gainsayers,  who,  as  at  first, 
will  not  believe  the  doctrine  of  Jesus,  because  it  is  truth. 
But  their  arguments  must  be  refuted,  and  their  mouths  must 
be  stopped.  And  it  is  not  for  those  who  have  to  contend,  ear- 
nestly for  the  faith  to  act  only  on  the  defensive.  Much  of  the 
Christian  evidence  is  in  its  nature  aggressive,  and  as  such  it 
should  be  used.  But  the  truth  has  been  assailed  as  if  it  had 
been  a  lie ;  and  infidels,  by  the  frequency  and  boldness  of 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

their  attacks,  have  assumed  a  seeming  strength  and  triumph 
to  which  they'have  no  claim,  except  in  leading  captive  the 
willing  mind,  deceiving  and  being  deceived.  Their  victims  have' 
been  many.  They  have  assailed  every  bulwark  of  Christian- 
it)^  and  threatened  to  raze  them,  till,  like  the  temple  of  Jeru- 
salem, not  a  stone  should  be  left  upon  another.  And  assu- 
ming the  victory  of  infidelity  to  be  complete,  they  denomina- 
ted the  period  of  its  greatest  prevalence  the  age  of  reason  ! 
Christians  may  surely  copy  the  zeal  of  their  enemies,  and 
realize  against  them  their  highest  pretensions.  The  weap- 
ons of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  but  mighty,  through  God, 
to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds ;  and  they  need  but  to  be 
rightly  wielded  in  order  to  put  to  flight  the  armies  of  the 
aliens.  And,  in  the  warfare  of  the  enemies  of  Zion,  under 
the  banner  of  him  who  leadeth  captivity  captive,  any  "  sol- 
dier of  Christ"  thus  armed  may  brave  the  boldest  of  the 
chiefs  of  skepticism,  and  lead  them  captive  in  the  cause  of 
truth.  After  the  utmost  rage  of  the  enemy  has  been  exhib- 
ited, and  all  their  strength  exhausted,  the  faithful  host  that 
long  withstood  them  unbroken,  and  repelled  every  assault, 
may  in  turn  become  the  assailants,  trusting  to  the  God  of 
truth  in  whose  strength  they  stand,  that  the  victory  will  final- 
ly be  the  more  completely  their  own.  Though  Goliaths, 
as  of  old,  have  defied  the  armies  of  the  living  God,  and  dis- 
mayed the  faint-hearted  in  Israel,  yet  at  the  last  even  they 
can  do  nothing  against  the  truth,  but  for  the  truth ;  by  their 
own  words  they  must  be  confuted,  and  by  their  own  swords 
they  must  be  slain. 

In  order  to  come  at  once  to  common  ground  with  gainsay- 
ers,  it  is  best  to  meet  them  on  their  own,  and  to  show  both 
the  right  and  the  might  by  which  Christians  have  and  hold  it. 
Nothing  is  to  be  assumed  or  supposed,  where,  however  rea- 
sonable, nothing  will  be  conceded;  but  adducing  facts  as 
proofs,  and  enemies  as  witnesses,  and  their  very  arguments 
as  our  needful  reasons,  the  feeblest  advocate  of  the  Christian 
faith — beginning  with  admitted,  positive,  undeniable,  existing, 
and  visible  facts  reclaimed  from  our  foes,  and  advancing  con- 
nectedly from  proof  to  proof  at  every  point — may  as  freely 
disclaim  all  need,  as  the  most  unyielding  skeptic  would  deny 
him  all  right,  of  commencing  and  conducting  an  investigation 
into  th^  absolute  verity  of  his  faith,  on  any  assumption  or 
supposition  whatever.  And  through  means  which  God  has 
given,  and  proofs  which,  in  his  overruling  Providence,  ene- 
mies have  supplied,  a  body  of  evidence  may  be  adduced 
which  renders  any  supposition  needless,  and  sets  all  objec- 
tions at  defiance ;  the  gospel  may  be  vindicated  as  the  word 
of  Him  who  truly  said  of  his  kingdom,  "  Whosoever  shall 
fall  on  this  stone  shall  be  broken ;  but  on  whomsoever  it  shall 
fall  it  will  grind  him  to  powder ;"  and  au^ht  less  than  a  dem- 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

onstration  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  would  be  a  disparage- 
ment of  the  faith  that  is  nothing  less  than  diwne. 
.  Abundant  as  are  the  materials  for  the  construction  of  such 
an  irrefragable  argument,  yet  additional  evidence  is  still  ac- 
cumulating. While  the  progress  of  physical  science  dis- 
closes the  works  of  the  God  of  nature,  it  illustrates  also  the 
truth  of  his  word.  The  very  objections  of  ignorance  become 
the  arguments  of  knowledge.  And,  as  superstition  is  shaken, 
true  i^eligion  is  confirmed.  And  the'iabours  of  all  the  ene- 
mies of  the  truth,  in  seeking  to  confound  Christianity  with 
its  corruptions,  or  to  subvert  them  together,  is  only  the  clear- 
ing away  of  the  rubbish  which  has  too  long  obscured  the  rock 
on  which  the  church  of  Christ  is  built ;  and  that  man  must 
know  but  little  of  the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  be  ill-instructed 
unto  the  kingdom  of  Heaven,  who,  in  seeking  to  illustrate  the 
truth  of  the  gospel,  could  not  readily  bring  forth  out  of  his 
treasure  things  neio  as  well  as  old. 

"  Things  old"  must  necessarily  be  brought  forth,  though 
every  Christian  might  rightfully  reckon  them  in  his  treasures, 
and  the  Christian  faith  would  be  left  without  defenders  if 
these  were  not  still  adduced,  as  they  have  been  in  ages  past, 
times  without  number.  But  something  "  new"  may  be  found 
in  the  arrangement,  combination,  and  connexion  of  the  evi- 
dence, in  the  application  of  many  of  the  facts  on  which  it 
rests,  the  introduction  of  others,  and  in  the  adoption  and  use 
of  the  arguments  of  our  adversaries. 

So  liberally  have  unbelievers  unconsciously  repaid  in  facts 
their  idle  scoffings  against  the  prophecies,  that  they  have  fur- 
nished the  means  of  demonstrating  their  inspiration,  sufficient 
singly  to  form  a  sure  foundation  whereon  to  rest  the  whole 
superstructure  of  Christian  evidence. 

In  the  following  treatise,  existing  facts,  which  any  man  may 
witness,  abundantly  supply,  in  the  first  place,  a  palpable  dem- 
onstration that  the  prophets  of  old  spake  by  inspiration  of 
omniscient  God.  The  great  infidel  argument  urged  in  modern 
times  against  the  credibility  of  miracles,  is  next — as  recorded 
and  refuted  in  Scripture — appropriated  and  applied  as  Chris- 
tian evidence,  and  as  involving  the  principle  on  which  mira- 
cles give  proof  of  revelation.  The  way  is  thus  doubly  pre- 
pared for  illustrating  the  credibility  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  of  the  New  ;  the  former  as  heralding  the  Messiah,  and 
preparatory  of  his  coming ;  the  latter  as  recording  concern- 
ing Christ  and  the  Christian  religion,  the  things  which  Moses 
and  the  prophets  did  say  should  come.  The  leading  sentiment 
which  pervades,  connects,  and  illumines  the  whole,  js,  that 
the  testimony  of  Jesus  is  the  spirit  of  prophecy.  Associated 
with  this  theme,  other  proofs,  not  wholly  destitute  of  novelty, 
are  adduced  in  verification  of  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  And 
the  inspiration  of  these,  together  with  the  witness  which  thev 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

bore  of  a  coming  Saviour,  being  manifestly  set  forth,  the  his- 
torical testimony  borne  to  Jesus  has  only  to  take  its  proper 
place,  and  to  be  viewed  in  connexion  with  the  testimony  of 
the  prophets,  in  order  that  not  even  a  heathen  could  narrate 
facts  respecting  Christianity,  or  urge  arguments  against  it, 
without  thereby  giving-  proofs  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus 
The  Christian  testimony,  though  assuming  a  lower  position 
in  the  order  of  evidence  than  that  which  it  generally  occu- 
pies, is  thus  endowed  with  a  far  higher  power  than  any  testi- 
mony could  exclusively  possess,  and  is  neither  to  be  evaded 
nor  resisted.  And,  finally,  the  authenticity  of  the  records 
being  established,  a  comparison  between  the  prophecies  and 
the  gospel  sets  demonstration  before  the  eye — as  the  Spirit 
by  whom  the  prophets  spake  can  alone  bring  conviction  to 
the  heart,  in  believing  unto  righteousness — that  Jesus  and  the 
Messiah,  as  well  as  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel  and  the  prom- 
ised salvation,  are  ahke  one  and  the  same. 

Instead  of  exhausting  the  subject  of  the  evidence  of  Chris- 
tianity, scarcely  a  tithe  of  it  is  touched  on  in  the  following 
pages,  as  many  excellent  and  voluminous  treatises  may  tes- 
tify. It  has  been  the  writer's  purpose  to  show  that  Christi- 
anity, in  all  reason,  is  accredited  as  divine  so  soon  as  it  is 
rightly  seen  even  in  a  single  view,  or  in  its  due  relationship, 
in  part,  to  Judaism.  Its  adaptation  to  the  nature,  or  its  ade- 
quateness,  when  truly  embraced,  to  the  salvation  of  man,  is 
a  theme  with  which  he  purposed  to  close  the  present  essay, 
as  showing  forth  in  still  brighter  form  the  Divine  handiwork 
and  heavenly  beauty  of  the  inner  sanctuary.  But  even  a  step 
or  two  into  the  outer  court  affords  demonstration  that  the 
workmanship  is  of  God.  If  enabled  to  advance  a  step  far- 
ther, it  may  yet  be  the  author's  privilege,  as  it  is  his  hope,  to 
cast  another  mite  into  the  Christian  treasury.  If  his  present 
labour — often  wrought  out  in  much  weakness,  and  always  in 
conscious  inadequacy  for  so  great  a  cause — may  be  prized, 
at  that  rate,  by  Him  who  looked  not  unpityingly  or  unappro- 
vingly on  the  widow's  mite,  the  commendation  or  the  cen- 
sure, the  flattery  or  the  calumnies  of  man  would  be  all  alike  un- 
worthy of  a  thought.  And  if  any  gain,  however  small,  hence 
accrue  to  the  Christian  cause — if  God's  word  hasin  any  way 
been  magnified,  while  the  wisdom,  the  pride,  and  the  power 
of  those  who  set  themselves  against  it  has  been  brought  low, 
even  to  the  ground — none  can  rejoice  more  than  the  writer 
of  these  pages  in  the  renewed  illustration  thereby  given  to 
the  Scriptural  truth,  that  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the  weak  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  things  that  are  mighty,  that  no  flesh 
should  glory  in  his  presence. 

B  2 


18  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 


CHAPTER  I. 

EXISTING  PROOFS  OP  THE  INSPIRATION  OF  THE   JEWISH  PROPHETS. 

So  abundant  and  obvious  are  thfe  proofs  of  the  want  of 
true  faith  in  a  Redeemer  from  all  iniquity,  and  so  clear  and 
conclusive,  when  impartially  and  fully  investigated,  are  the 
evidences  of  Christianity,  that  it  is  infinitely  more  needful 
to  urge  on  professing  Christians  compliance  with  the  Scrip- 
tural precept,  to  examine  themselves  whether  they  be  in  the 
faith,  than  to  ask  the  unbeliever  to  abate  one  jot  of  his  skep- 
ticism, till,  if  not  altogether  inveterate,  it  yield  to  positive 
evidence  and  demonstrative  proof. 

It  is  one  great  office  of  reason  to  distinguish  between  truth 
and  error,  to  weigh  the  evidence  which  may  be  adduced  on 
both  sides  of  a  question,  and  rejecting  that  which  is  false, 
and  adhering  to  that  which  is  true,  to  judge  what  is  right, 
and,  trying  all  things,  to  hold  fast  what  is  good.  While  the 
undisguised  enemies  of  the  Christian  religion  have  main- 
tained, in  contradiction  to  these  Christian  precepts,  that  it 
is  not  to  be  defended  on  the  principles  of  human  reason,  nor 
fitted  by  any  means  to  undergo  such  a  trial,  the  decision  may 
be  left  to  the  arbitrament  of  reason,  whether  the  disbelief  of 
the  truth  of  Christianity  be  not  of  all  things  the  most  irra- 
tional as  well  as  dangerous.  Man  has  more  understanding 
than  the  beasts  that  perish  ;  and,  in  the  exercise  of  that  high 
faculty  of  our  nature,  it  behooves  him,  undeceived  either  by 
vain  imaginations  or  false  pleasures,  to  see  that — in  the  way 
in  which  he  is  going  or  in  which  others  would  lead  him — 
he  neither  go  nor  be  led  like  an  ox  to  the  slaughter,  or  be  as 
a  bird  that  hasteth  to  the  snare,  and  knoweth  not  that  it  is  for 
his  life. 

"  A  wise  man,"  says  Hume,  "  proportions  his  belief  to  the 
evidence :"  and  we  ask  no  other  rule  for  the  confirmation 
of  faith  and  the  extinction  of  skepticism.  Let  us  thus  rea- 
son together  from  the  first  line  to  the  last ;  let  faith  be  pro- 
portioned to  evidence  ;  let  the  testimony  of  enemies  be 
heard  ;  let  facts  be  looked  at ;  and  let  the  most  direct  infer- 
ences be  drawn  in  the  plainest  exercise  of  unbiased  rea 
son,  and  every  reader  may  decide  for  himself,  on  the  sound- 
est dictates  of  an  enlightened  judgment,  on  which  side,  to 
an  absolute  certainty  and  entire  conviction,  the  truth  must 
lie,  in  respect  to  the  question  here  to  be  discussed,  whether 
that  which  was  spoken  by  the  prophets  of  old  has  come  or 
not,  or  whether  they  spake  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utter- 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  19 

ance,  or  out  of  the  imaginations  of  their  own  hearts.     We 
speak  as  unto  "  loise  men,''''  judge  ye  what  rvc  say. 

Holding  to  the  principle  of  rejecting,  as  entirely  unneces- 
sary, any  preliminary  assumption  or  supposition,  we  begin 
with  the  ocular  demonstration  given  by  existing  facts  to  the 
inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  prophets,  whose  writings 
were  translated  into  Greek  above  three  hundred  and  forty 
years  before  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans. 

Reason  and  Scripture  alike  warrant  that  the  precedence 
in  the  Christian  testimony  should  now  be  given  to  visible 
facts,  which  at  the  end  do  speak  and  cannot  lie,  and  are  not 
to  be  gainsaid.  A  divine  doctrine  might  be  taught,  and  yet 
the  question  be  asked,  Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?  Hu- 
man testimony  may  have  been  borne  to  it  in  ages  past  by  a 
thousand  tongues,  and  written  by  a  thousand  pens,  and  the 
same  question  be  as  often  repeated.  The  light  might  shine 
in  darkness,  and  yet  the  darkness  comprehend  it  not.  But 
though  men  will  not  judge  what  is  right,  nor,  if  told,  believe 
what  is  true,  yet  if  they  close  not  their  eyes,  and  wilfully 
choose  the  darkness  rather  than  the  light,  they  must  see 
what  is  set  before  their  eyes,  not  in  abstract  forms,  but  in 
palpable  facts.  It  is  thus  that  the  truth  of  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  the  prophets  may  be  seen  ;  and  the  prediction  more 
frequently  repeated  than  any  other,  and  affixed  to  many 
threatened  judgments,  may  itself  be  thus  verified — they 
SHALL  KNOW  that  I  am  the  Lord. 

"  If  by  a  prophet,"  says  Paine,  "  we  are  to  suppose  a 
man  to  whom  the  Almighty  communicated  some  event  that 
would  take  place  in  future,  either  there  were  such  men  or 
there  were  not.  If  there  were,  it  is  consistent  to  believe 
that  the  event  so  communicated  would  be  told  in  terms  that 
could  be  understood."  It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to 
show  that  there  were  such  men ;  because  the  events  com- 
municated to  them  were  told  in  terms  not  only  easy  to  be 
understood,  but  impossible  to  be  misapprehended ;  because 
the  events  were  also  such  as  no  foresight  or  s;igacity  of 
man  could  ever  have  discovered  or  conceived ;  and  because 
that,  instead  of  having  to  be  searched  for  in  the  records  of 
a  high  antiquity,  they  have,  in  manifold  instances,  been  re- 
cently or  newly  ascertained,  so  that  all  controversy  may  be 
here  cut  short  by  abundantly  adducing  existing  facts  end 
modern  discoveries  in  literal  fulfilment  of  manifold  prophe- 
cies, the  antiquity  of  which,  as  preceding  these  events,  is 
altogether  indisputable. 

To  accumulate  opposing  facts  is  not  the  worst  mode  of 
subverting  wild  and  baseless  theories  ;  and  positive  proof 
may  safely  be  set  against  unsubstantial  and  fanciful  objec- 
tions. The  prophets  of  Israel  have  all  been  stigmatized  as 
"  impostors  and  liars,"  and  the  book  as  "  a  book  of  lies  ;" 


OF  THB  "^.^^ 


20  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

their  writings,  those  especially  of  Isaiah,  have  been  desig- 
nated as  "  bombastical  rant,  full  of  extravagant  metaphor, 
without  application,  and  destitute  of  meaning."  But,  as 
every  reader  must  see  on  comparing  the  predictions  with 
their  respective  events,  our  enemies  being  witnesses,  that 
which  so  far  surpassed  all  conjecture  as  to  be  deemed  ex- 
travagant metaphor,  is  uniformly  made  manifest  to  be  the 
literal  truth ;  and  words  could  not  have  a  clearer  meaning 
or  more  precise  application  than  those  prophecies,  of  which, 
after  the  lapse  of  many  ages,  we  now  see  the  fulfilment. 

In  a  guilty  world,  where  his  laws  are  transgressed  and 
his  word  is  disregarded,  the  Lord  is  known  hy  the  judgment 
which  he  executes.  In  the  development  of  them,  so  great  a 
change  in  manifold  instances  has  passed  on  human  things, 
that  these  have  become  the  reverse  of  what  they  were  ;  and, 
in  token  that  mercy  rejoiceth  against  judgment,  they  shall 
yet  again,  as  predicted,  be  the  reverse  of  what  they  are. 
From  one  extreme  to  another,  their  changeful  forms  are 
ever  shaped,  in  their  appointed  time,  according  to  the  pro- 
phetic word.  And,  while  past  history  is  a  corroboration  of 
that  word,  when  the  desolations  of  many  generations  shall  be 
raised  up,  all  flesh  shall  know  that  He,  who  hath  spoken  it 
and  caused  it  to  be  done,  is  the  Lord.  But,  restricting  our 
view  to  existing  facts,  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets  of  Is- 
rael may  be  visibly  and  vividly  demonstrated.  In  the  latter 
days  we  may  consider  it  perfectly.  And  we  may  come  and 
see  the  desolations  which,  because  of  iniquity,  the  Lord 
hath  wrought  in  the  earth.  Ancient  cities  and  kingdoms 
have  borne  "  the  burden"  of  his  word.  Before  it,  all  the 
nations  which  in  ancient  times  were  the  enemies  of  Israel, 
have  been  utterly  destroyed,  the  Arabs  excepted,  who  still 
dwell  in  the  presence  of  their  brethren.  The  Jews  have 
been  scattered  among  all  nations,  are  yet  dispersed  in  all 
countries,  and  distinct  from  every  people  ;  and  their  unpar- 
alleled fate  is  a  perfect  parallel  of  the  prophecies.  Judea, 
Ammon,  Moab,  Edom,  and  Philistia,  bear  their  brand  in  every 
feature.  A  plain,  whereon  fishers  spread  their  nets,  is  the 
prophetic  representative  of  princely  Tyre.  Cottages  of  shep- 
herds have  supplanted  the  palaces  of  the  lords  of  the  Philis- 
tines ;  and  wherever  the  rest  of  the  land  has  not  been  given 
up  to  the  desert,  folds  for  flocks  occupy  the  places  of  the 
hosts  of  the  enemies  of  Israel.  The  chief  city  of  Ammon 
is  a  stable  for  camels ;  that  of  Moab  is  a  ruinous  heap  ; 
flocks  lie  down  in  the  empty  cities,  and  the  wandering  ten- 
ants of  the  desolate  land  flee  for  a  refuge  to  the  rocks.  The 
temples  of  Petra  are  courts  for  owls  ;  and  the  word  of  the 
Lord  against  the  capital  of  Edom,  amid  perpetual  monu- 
ments of  its  ancient  glory,  is  written  with  a  pen  of  iron  on 
the  rock  for  ever.     Babylon  the  great  has  been  converted 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  21 

into  heaps ;  and  its  walls,  utterly  broken,  have  been  swept 
from  off  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  and  not  a  phantom  evoked 
by  vain  fancy,  but  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  sits  on  every  ruin, 
and  each,  as  addressed,  is  an  echo  of  its  voice  ;  and  the 
whole  diversified  and  yet  discriminated  scene  is  one  of  the 
rolls  of  its  literal  testimony  spread  forth  before  the  world  at 
this  hour,  although  all  the  combined  intelligence  of  Europe 
was  unequal  to  the  task,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century,  of  depicting  the  ruins  of  Babylon  with  half  the 
accuracy  with  which  the  prophets  of  Israel  delineated  the 
grave,  as  now  it  lies,  of  "  the  greatest  city,"  as  Pliny  termed 
it,  "  on  which  the  sun  ever  shone." 

While  the  multiplicity  of  predictions  respecting  Judea 
AND  THE  ADJACENT  REGIONS  OF  Syria  demands  our  primary 
consideration,  Volney,  from  the  copiousness  of  his  details 
and  the  discriminating  nature  of  his  descriptions,  as  well  as 
from  his  inveterate  hostility  to  the  Christian  cause,  has  a 
right  to  be  a  leading  witness.  The  prophecies  are  so  lumi- 
nous and  apposite,  that  a  word  to  point  out  their  meaning  or 
apphcation  would  be  superfluous.  They  are  so  numerous 
that,  when  viewed  collectively,  they  in  a  great  measure  dis- 
claim the  aid  of  farther  argument  to  elucidate  the  inspiration 
of  which  they  testify.  And  in  regard  to  the  facts  which 
render  their  fulfilment  obvious,  they  are  so  striking  and  abun- 
dant as  to  render  complete  the  triumph  of  truth  over  error. 
And  as  no  man  has  contributed  to  this  triumph  so  greatly  as 
an  enemy  of  the  faith  has  unconsciously  done,  it  is  only  need- 
ful to  prefix  a  remark  or  two  respecting  the  validity  of  his 
testimony,  before  we  bring  those  facts  which  he  himself 
has  stated  to  refute  the  arguments  which  he  and  all  others 
have  urged  against  the  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament 
prophets. 

The  name  of  Volney  is  too  well  known  as  that  of  a  most 
zealous  partisan  and  successful  promoter  of  infidelity  for 
the  possibility  of  his  testimony  ever  being  objected  to  as 
partial  to  the  Christian  cause.  It  assuredly  was  no  inten- 
tion of  his  to  elucidate  Scripture  prophecy.  And,  whatever 
his  theoretical  tenets  may  have  been,  his  character  is  now 
universally  established — and  he  stands  indisputably  in  the 
very  first  rank — as  an  accurate  and  intelligent  delineator  of 
the  various  features  of  the  countries  which  he  visited,  and 
the  character,  condition,  and  manners  of  the  inhabitants. 
His  Travels  in  Syria  and  Egypt  are  justly  characterized  as 
"  a  treatise  on  the  country  which  he  visited ;"  "  an  admirable 
book,"  and  of  "  extraordinary  merit."*  And  the  following 
"  testimony  of  great  value"  is  given  by  the  Hon.  Mountstuart 
Elphinstone,  late  Governor  of  Bombay,  in  his  "  Account  of 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  50,  p.  417, 


22  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

the  Kingdom  of  Caubul."  "  Among  many  other  talents,  M. 
Volney  possesses,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  the  merit  of  point- 
ing out  what  is  peculiar  in  the  manners  and  institutions  of 
the  East,  by  comparing  and  contrasting  them  with  those  of 
Europe.  So  far  does  he  excel  all  other  writers  in  this  re- 
spect, that  if  one  wishes  thoroughly  to  understand  other 
travellers  in  Mohammedan  countries,  it  is  necessary  to  have 
read  Volney  first."*  And  in  reference  to  the  fulness  and  ac- 
curacy of  his  descriptions,  it  must  suffice  to  quote  the  follow- 
ing testimony  of  high  and  unqualified  approbation,  with 
which  Malte-Brun,  the  first  authority  in  geography,  intro- 
duces his  description  of  Syria  and  Palestine  : 

"  The  countries  belonging  to  Asiatic  Turkey  which  re- 
main to  be  described  have  so  frequently  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  travellers,  that  a  large  library  might  be  formed  of  the 
accounts  of  them  vi^hich  have  been  published.  Two  o^  three 
volumes  could  scarce  contain  the  names  of  the  pilgrims  who 
have  left  journals  of  their  travels  in  the  Holy  Land ;  works 
full  of  repetition  and  puerility,  yet  claiming  the  examination 
of  the  enlightened  critic.  From  these,  compared  with  the 
writings  of  Abulfedaand  Josephus,  the  learned  Busching  has 
formed  an  excellent  geographical  treatise.  In  modern  times 
we  have  judicious  missionaries,  such  as  Dandini ;  antiquarj.es, 
as  Wood  ;  and  naturalists,  as  Maundrel  and  Hasselquist,  who 
have  ably  elucidated  particular  parts  of  these  countries.  It 
was  reserved  for  the  genius  of  Volney  to  combine  their  detached 
accounts  with  the  fruits  of  his  own  observation  and  study ^  so 

as   to   PRESENT    THE    WORLD  WITH    A    COMPLETE   DESCRIPTION   OP 

Syria,  "t 

The  description  of  Syria  and  Palestine  given  by  Volney 
has  not,  therefore,  to  be  considered  as  only  that  of  a  single 
eyewitness,  but  as  the  collation  and  combination  of  many 
accounts.  But  though  he  sojourned  long  in  the  land^  and 
saw  what  he  described ;  though  he  might  have  searched  into 
journals  of  travels  so  numerous  that  it  would  require  a  vol- 
ume to  contain  their  names ;  although  the  substance  of  these 
was  made  ready  to  his  hand,  and  although  his  description  of 
Syria  be  justly  esteemed  "  a  model,"  and  accounted  com- 
plete ;  yet  even  he,  after  all  his  observation  and  study,  how- 
ever satisfactory  may  be  the  result  to  the  geographer,  pre- 
sents not  information  sufficiently  discriminating  and  copious 
to  satisfy  the  inquirer  who  seeks,  but  seeks  in  vain,  for  any 
description  of  Syria  so  full  and  complete  as  to  supply  of  it- 
self every  predicted  fact,  or  to  cope  with  the  vision  of  the 
prophets.  To  the  evidence  of  Volney  that  of  other  and  more 
recent  travellers  must  therefore  be  superadded. 

♦  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  50,  Elphinstone's  Account  of  Caubul,  p.  232. 
i  Malte-Brun's  Geography,  toI.  ii.,  p.  126. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  23 

It  needs  not  a  syllable  to  tell  how  clearly  his  description, 
which  was  written  towards  the  close  of  the  18th  century, 
and  those  of  others,  written  in  the  present,  accord  with  those 
prophecies,  the  latest  of  which  were  indisputably  delivered  at 
least  several  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  seeing  that  the 
perfect  parallelism  between  the  predictions  and  the  events, 
in  reference  to  Palestine  and  many  countries  besides,  may  be 
thus  set  before  the  sight. 

The  generation  to  come  of  "  I  journeyed  in  the  empire 
your  children  that  shall  rise  of  the  Ottomans,  and  traversed 
up  after  you,  and  the  stran-  the  provinces,  which  formerly 
GER  THAT  SHALL  COME  FROM  A  wcrc  kiugdoms  of  Egypt  and 
FAR  LAND,  whcn  they  see  the  Syria."  "  I  wandered  over  the 
plagues  of  that  land,  and  the  country'''' — "  I  enumerated  the 
sicknesses  which  the  Lord  kingdoms  of  Damascus  and 
hath  laid  upon  it,  shall  say,  Idumea,  of  Jerusalem  and  Sa- 
Deut.  xxix.,  22.  maria.     This  Syria,  said  I  to 

myself,  now  almost  depopu- 
lated, then  contained  a  hun- 
dred   flourishing    cities,   and 
abounded  with  towns,  villages, 
and  hamlets.    What  are  be- 
come of  so  many  productions 
of  the  hand  of  man?    What 
are  become  of  these  ages  of 
abundance  and  of  life  V  &c. — 
Volney'^s  Ruins,  c.  i.,  11,  p.  1, 
2,7. 
Wherefore  hath  the  Lord      "  Great  God !  from  whence 
done  this  unto  this  land  1  What  proceed  such  melancholy  rev- 
meaneth  the  heat  of  this  great  olutions  ?    For  what  cause  is 
anger  ?    lb.  24.  the  fortune  of  these  countries 

so  strikingly  changed  1    Why 
are  so  many  cities  destroyed  1 
Why  is  not  that  ancient  popu- 
lation reproduced  and  perpet- 
uated?"—J*.,  c.  ii.,  p.  8. 
I  will  scatter  you  among  the      The  Jews,  as  all  know,  have 
heathen,  and  will  draw  out  a  been  scattered  among  the  hea- 
s  word  after  you :  and  your  land  then.     "  I  have  traversed  this 
shall  be  desolate,  Levit.  xxxvi.,  desolate  country,"   says  Vol- 
33.  ney.  Ruins,  c.  ii.,  p.  7. 

Then  shall  the  land  enjoy  "  Every  day  I  found  in  my 
her  Sabbaths  (or  rest,  or  be  route  fields  abandoned  by  the 
untilled).  plough."— id.,  c.  i.     "The  art 

•  of  cultivation  is  in  the  most  de- 
plorable state."—  Volney^s  Trav- 
els, V.  ii.,  p.  413. 


24  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF   THE 

As  long  as  it  lieth  desolate,      "  Why  do  these  lands  no 
and  ye  be  in  your  enemies^  land ;  longer  boast  their  former  tera- 
even  then  shall  the  land  rest,  v.  perature  and  fertility  ?     Why 
34.     The  land  also  shall  be  left  have  these  favours  been  trans- 
of  them,  and  shall  enjoy  her  ferred,  as  it  were, /or  so  many 
Sabbaths,  or  rest,  while  she  ages,  to  other  nations  and  dii- 
lieth  desolate  without  them,  v.  ferent  climes  1" — Volneifs  Ru- 
43.     They  (the  Jews  on  their  ins,  c.  xi.,  p.  9. 
final  return)  shall  raise  up  the 
former  desolations,  the  desola- 
tions of  many  generations,  Isa. 
Ixi.,  4.     See,  also,  Isa.  xxxiii., 
15 ;  Iviii.,  12.  Ezek.  xxxvi.,  24, 
25,  33-36;  xxxviii.,  8.     Dan. 
ix.,  27.     Hosea,  iii.,  4. 

Your  land,  strangers  devour  "  Within  two  thousand  five 
it  in  your  presence,  and  it  is  hundred  years  we  may  reckon 
desolate,  as  overthrown  by  ten  invasions  which  have  in- 
strangers,  Isa.  i.,  7.  troduced  into  Syria  a  succes- 

sion oi  foreign  nations." — Vol- 
ney^s  Travels,  vol.  i.,  p.  356. 
Destruction  upon  destruc-  "  Syria  became  a  province 
tion  is  cried,  Jer.  iv,,  20.  Mis-  of  the  Roman  empire.  In  the 
chiefshall  come  upon  mischief,  year  622  (636)  the  Arabian 
Ezek.  vii.,  21,  26.  Tell  your  tribes,  collected  under  the  ban- 
children  of  it,  and  let  your  chil-  ners  of  Mohammed,  seized,  or 
dren  tell  their  children,  and  rather  laid  it  waste.  Since 
their  children  another  genera-  that  period,  torn  to  pieces  by 
tion.  For  a  nation  is  come  up  the  civil  wars  of  the  Fatimites 
upon  my  land,  strong  and  with-  and  the  Ommiades,  wrested 
out  number,  &c.,  Joel  i.  from  the  califs  by  their  re- 

bellious governors,  taken  from 
them  by  the  Turkmen  soldiery 
invaded  by  the  European  cru- 
saders, retaken  by  the  Mame- 
lukes of  Egypt,  and  ravaged 
by  Tamerlane  and  his  Tartars, 
it  has  at  length  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Ottoman  Turks." 
—  Volney's  Travels,  p.  357. 
I  will  give  it  into  the  hands  Judea  has  been  the  scene 
of  strangers  for  a  prey,  of  frequent  invasions  "  which . 

have  introduced  a  succession 

of  foreign  nations  {des  peuples 

etrangers).''^ — lb.,  p.  365. 

And  into  the  wicked  of  the      "  When  the  Ottomans  took 

ezxih  for  9,  spoil,  Ezek.  vii.  i  21.  Syria  from  the  Mamelukes, 

they  considered  it  only  as  the 
spoil  of  a  vanquished  enemy. 
According  to  the  law,  the  life 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  25 

and  property  of  the  vanquished 

behjug  to  the  conquerors." — 

lb.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  370. 

The  robbers  shall  enter  into      "  'I'he    government    is    far 

ii  and  defile  it,  EzeL  vii.,  22.    from  disapproving  a  system  of 

robbery  and  plunder.'''' — lb.,  p. 
381. 
The  holy  places  shall  be  de-      "  The  holy  places  were  pol- 
filed,  luted  with  the  monuments  of 

idolatry."— GtZ*.  Hist.,  vol.  iv., 
p.  100.     The  Mosque  of  Omar 
now  stands  on  the  site  of  the 
Temple  of  Solomon. 
Zion  shall  be  plowed  over      "  After  the  final  destruction 
like  afieldj/er.  xxvi.,  18.     Mi-  of  the  temple  by  the  arms  of 
cah  iii.,  12.  Titus  and  Hadrian,  a  plough- 

share was  drawn  over  the  con- 
secrated ground  as  a  sign  of 
perpetual  interdiction." — Gib- 
bon^ ibid.     "  At  the  time  when 
I    visited    this    sacred    spot 
(Mount  Zion),  one  part  of  it 
supported  a  crop  of  barley, 
another  was  undergoing  the 
labour  of  the  plough." — Mic. 
iii.,  12.     RichardsorCs  Travels. 
I  will  bring  the  land  into      "  So  feeble  a  population  in 
desolation ;  and  your  enemies  so  excellent  a  country  may 
which  dwell  therein  shall  be  well  excite  our  astonishment ; 
astonishedB.i'ii,Levit.xx\i.,32,  but  this  will    be  increased  if 
Every  one  that  passeth  there-  we  compare  the  present  num- 
by    shall  be   astonished,   Jer.  ber  of  inhabitants  with  that 
xviii.,  6.  of  ancient  times." — Volney''s 

Trav.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  366. 
Your    highways    shall    be      "  Everywhere     one    might 
desolate,  Levit.  xxvi.,  22.  have    seen    cultivated   fields, 

frequented  roads,  and  crowded 
habitations.  Ah!  what  are 
become  of  those  ages  of  abun- 
dance and  of  life !" — Ruins,  c. 
ii.,  p.  7.  "  In  the  interior  parts 
of  the  country  there  are  nei- 
ther great  roads,  nor  canals, 
nor  even  bridges,  &c.  The 
roads  in  the  mountains  are  ex- 
tremely bad.  It  is  remarkable 
that  we  never  see  a  wagon  nor 
a  cart  in  all  Syria."— Fo/zicyV 
Travels,  vol.  ii.,  417,  419. 
C 


26  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

The  "wayfaring  man  ceas-      "  Nobody  travels  alone.     Be- 
eth,  ha,  xxxiii.,  8.  tween  town  and  town  there 

are  neither  posts  nor  public 
conveyances,"    &c. — lb.,    p. 
418. 
I  will  destroy  your  high  pla-      "  The  temples  are  thrown 
cesand  bring  your  sanctuaries  down, 
into  desolation,  Lcvit.  xxvi., 
30,  31.     Amos  ii.,  5. 

The  palaces  sjiall  be  forsa-  "  The  palaces  demolished, 
ken,  Isa.  xxxii.,  14. 

I  will  destroy  the  remnant      "  The  ports  filled  up, 
of  the  seacoast,  J?;?^^-.  xxv.,  16. 

I    will    make    your    cities      "  The  towns  destroyed, 
waste,  LciK  xxvi,,  31. 

Few  men  left,  Jsa.  xxiv.,  6.       "And  the  earth,  stripped  oj 

inhabifants, 
I  will  make  the  land  deso-      "  Seems  a  dreary  burying- 
late;  yea,  more  desolate  than  place."* — Ruins,  c.  ii.,  p.  8. 
the  wilderness  towards  Dib- 
lath,  in  all  their  habitations. 

Behold, the  Lord  makeih  the      *'  Syria  has  undergone  rcvo- 
land    empty,    and    maketh    it  huions  which  have  covfounded 
waste,  and  turneth  it  upside  the  different  races  of  the  in- 
down;  and  scattereth  abroad  habitants" — Volney's  Travels, 
the  inhabitants  thereof.     And  vol.  i.,  p.  356. 
it  shall  be  as  with  the  people, 
so  with  the  priest ;  as  with  the 
servant,  so  with  the  master, 
&c.,  Isa.  xxiv.,  1. 

The  earth  is  defiled  under      "  The  barbarism  of  Syria  is 
the    inhabitants    thereof,   lb.  complete." — Ibid.,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
The  worst  of  the  heathen  shall  442. 
possess   their   houses,   Ezek. 
vii.,  24. 

Because  they  have  trans-  "  The  pure  Gospel  of  Christ, 
gressed  the  law,  changed  the  everywhere  the  herald  of  civi- 
ordinances,  broken  the  ever-  lization  and  science,  is  almost 
lasting  covenant,  as  little  known  in  the   Holy 

Land  as  in  California  or  New- 
Holland."— Dr.  Clarke's  Trav- 
els, vol.  ii.,  p.  405. 
Therefore  hath  the    curse      "  God  has,  doubtless,  pro- 
devoured  the  earth.  nounced  a  secret  malediction 

against  the  earth." — Volney's 
Ruins,  c.  ii.,  p.  11. 

♦  In  this  single  sentence,  without  the  addition  or  exception  of  a  word,  Vol- 
ney  thus  clearly  and  unconsciously  shows  the  fulfilment  of  no  less  than  six 
predictions. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE   PROPHETS.  '  27 

And  they  that  dwell  therein     "  I  wandered  over  the  coun- 
are  desolate,  Isa.  xxiv.,  5,  6.     try  and  examined   the  condi- 
tion of  the  peasants^  and  no- 
where   perceived    aught   but 
robbery  and  devastation,  mis- 
ery    and     wretchedness." — 
Volnei/,  ib.,  p.  2. 
The  vinelanguisheth,7J.,7.      "  In  the  mountains  they  do 
not  prune  the  vines,  and  they 
nowhere  ingraft  trees." — Vol- 
ne-ips  Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  335. 
The  new  wine  mourneth ;      "  Good  cheer  would  infalli- 
they  shall  not  drink  wine  with  bly  expose  ihem  to  extortion, 
a  song,  Isa.  xxiv.,  9.  and  wine  to  a  corporeal  pun- 

ishment."—  Volney^s    Travels, 
vol.  i.,  p.  480. 
Strong  drink  shall  be  bitter    "  The  wines  of  .Jerusalem  are 
to  them  that  drink  it,  Ib.  most  "execrable."  — Jolliffe's 

Letters  from  Palestine,  vol.  i., 

p.  184.     "  The  wine  drank  in 

Jerusalem  is  probably  the  very 

worst  to  be  met  with  in  any 

country." — Wilson's    Travels, 

p.  130* 

All   the  merry-hearted   do      "The    Arabs    (in    singing) 

sigh.      Their    shouting   shall  may  be  said  to  excel  most  in 

be  no  shouting.  the    melancholy   strain.     To 

hear   his   plaintive  tones,  his 

sighs,  and  sobs,  it  is   almost 

impossible    to    refrain    from 

tears." — Volney''s  Travels,  voX. 

ii.,  p.  440. 

The  mirth  of  tabrets  ceas-        "  They    (the    inhabitants) 

eth  ;  the  joy  of  the  harp  ceas-  have  no  music  but  vocal,  for 

eth,  Isa.  xxiv.,  8.  they  neither  know  nor  esteem 

instrumental.      Such    instru- 
ments as  they  have,  not  ex- 
cepting their   flutes,  are   de- 
testable."—  Volney''s    Travels, 
p.  439. 
The  noise  of  them  that  re-      "  They  have  a  serious,  nay, 
joice  endeth  ;  all  joy  is  dark-  even     sad     and    melancholy 
ened ;  the  mirth  of  the  land  is  countenance.      The)      rarely 
gone,  Isa.  xxiv.,  8.,  11.  laugh  ;  and  the  gayety  of  the 

French  appears  lo  them  a  fit 
of  delirium." — Volney's  Trav- 
els, vol.  i.,  p.  476,  461. 
Many  days  and  years  shall      "  In  Palestine  you  may  see 


28  EXISTING     PROOFS     OF    THE 

ye  be  troubled,  ye  careless  married   women  almost  un- 

women.    Tremble,  ye  women  covered." — /6.,  vol.  i.,  p.  361. 

that  are  at  ease  ;  be  troubled, 

ye  careless   ones ;  strip  you 

and  make  you  bare,  and  gird 

sackcloth  upon  your  loins, /5a. 

xxxii.,  10,  11. 

Upon  the  land  of  my  people  "  The  earth  produces  only 
shall  come  up  thorns  and  bri-  briers  itnd  wormwood." — Vol- 
ers,  lb.,  13.  nei/s  Rums,  p.  9. 

The  foris  and  towers  shall  "  At  every  step  we  meet 
be  for  dens  for  ever,  lb.  v.,  14.  with  ruins  of  towers, dungeons 

and   castles  with  fosses,  fre- 
quently inhabited  by  jackalls, 
owls,   and    scorpions." — Vol- 
ney's  Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  336. 
A  pasture  of  flocks  :  there      "  All  the  parts   of  Galilee 
shall  the  lambs  feed  after  their  which   afford  pasture  are  oc* 
manner  :  and   the  waste  pla-  cupied  by  Arab  tribes,  around 
ces  of  the  fat  ones  shall  stran-  whose  brown  tents  the  sheep 
gers  eat,  lb,  and  lambs  gambol  to  the  sound 

of  the  reed,  which  at  night- 
fall calls  them  home." — Malte- 
Brun,  vol.  ii.,  p.  148. 
The  multitude  of  the  city      "  There    are    innumerable 
shall    be    left,  lb.    The  de-  monuments  which  depose  in 
fenced  city  shall  be  left  deso-  favour  of  the  great  population 
late,  and  the  habitation  forsa-  of  high  antiquity,  such  as  the 
ken,  and  left  like  a  wilderness,  prodigious    quantity   of   ruins 
Isa.  xxvii.,  10.  dispersed  over  the  plains,  and 

even  in  the  mountains,  at  this 
day  deserted. '''' — Volney^s  Trav- 
els, vol.  ii.,  p.  368. 
When  the  boughs  thereof      "  The  olive-trees  (near  Ari- 
are  withered,  they  shall  be  mathea)  are   daily  perishing 
broken  off ;  the  women  come  through  age,  the  ravages  of 
and  set    them  on  fire,   Isa.  contending  factions,  and  even 
xxvii.,  10.  from    secret   mischief.     The 

Mamelukes  having  cut  down 
all  the  olive-trees,  for  the 
pleasure  they  take  in  destroy- 
ing, or  to  make^re*,  Yafa  has 
lost  its  greatest  commerce." — 
Volney''s  Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
332,  333. 
For  it  is  a  people  of  no  un-  "  The  most  simple  arts  are 
derslanding,  Isa.  xxvii.,  11.      in  a  state  of  barbarism ;  the 

sciences  are  Zo/aZ/y  unknown," 
—lb.,  p.  442. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROFHETS.  ^9 

Your    cities    burned    with      "A    place    lately   ravaged 
fire,  Isa.  i.,  7.  with  fire   and    sword    would 

have  precisely  the  appearance 
of  this  village  (Loudd,  Lydda). 
Ramla  is  in  almost  as  ruinous 
a  state."— /Z>.,  p.  332,  333. 
Many  pastors  have  destroy-      "  Like    the    Turkmen,    the 
ed  my  vineyard,  they  have  Curds  are  pastoi-s  and  wander- 
trodden    my    portion    under  ers.     A  third  wandering  peo- 
foot,  Jer.  xii.,  10.  pie  in  Syria  are  the  Bedouin 

Arabs.     The    Turkmen,    the 
Curds,  and  the  Bedouins  have 
no  fixed  habitations,  but  keep 
perpetually     wandering,     with 
their  tents  and  herds."    Chap, 
xxiii.  of   Volney's    Travels  is 
entitled.  Of   the    Pastoral  or 
Wandering  Tribes  of  Syria. — 
Vol.  i.,  p.  367,  &c. 
They  have  made  my  pleas-      "  With  its  numerous  advan- 
ant  portion  a  desolate  wilder-  tages  of  climate  and  soil,  it 
ness,  the  whole  land  is  made  is  not  astonishing  that  Syria 
desolate,  lb.,  10,  11.  should  always  have  been  es- 

teemed a  most  delicious  coun- 
try.^^ —  Volney''s  Travels,  vol.  i., 
p.  321.     "I  have  seen  nothing 
but  solitude  and  desertion." — 
Volney''s  Ruins,  p.  7. 
The  spoilers  are  come  upon     "  These  precautions  (against 
all   high   places  through  the  robbers)  are  above  all  neces- 
wilderness,  Jer.  xii.,  12.  sary  in  the  countries  exposed 

to  the  Arabs,  such  as  Pales- 
tine, and  the  whole  frontier  of 
the   desert." — Volney^s  Trav 
els,  vol.  ii,  p.  417. 
No  fiesh  shall  have  peace.      "  War,  famine,  and   pesti- 
lence   assail   them   at   every 
turn." — Volney's  Ruins,  p.  9. 
They  have  sown  wheat,  but      "  Man  sows  in  anguish,  and 
they  shall  reap  thorns ;  they  reaps  vexation  and  care." — 
have  put  themselves  to  pain,  /^».,  11.     "They  would  not  be 
but  shall  not  profit.  permitted   to   reap  the   fruit 

of  their    labours." — Volney''s 
Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  435. 
They  shall  be  ashamed  of      "  The  annual  sum  paid  by 
your  revenues,  Jer,  xii.,  13.       Syria  into  the  treasury  of  the 

Sultan  amounts  to  2345  pur- 
ses. 
C2 


30  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

For  Aleppo  .  .  .  800 
TripoU  ...  750 
Damascus .     45 

Acre 750 

Palestine  . 

2345  purses." 

(Or   £112,135.)—  Volney's 

Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  360. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of      "  The  peasants  are  every- 

the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  where  reduced  to  a  little  cake 

and  of  the  land  of  Israel,  they  of  barley  or  dourra,  to  onions, 

shall  eat  their  ^ffarf  with  care-  lentils,  and  water.''''     "Dread 

fulness,  and  drink  their  water  prevails  through  the  villages." 

with  astonishment ;  that  her  "  The  arbitrary  power  of  the 

land  may  be  desolate    from  Sultan,    transmitted    to    the 

ALL  that  is  therein,  because  pacha  and  to  all  his  sub-dele- 

of  the  violence  of  all  them  that  gates,  by  giving  a  free  course 

dwell  therein,  Ezek.  xii.,  19.     to     extortion,     becomes    the 

mainspring  of  a  tyranny  which 
circulates  through  every  class^ 
while  its  effects,  by  a  recipro- 
cal reaction,    are   everywhere 
fatal  to  agriculture,  the  arts, 
commerce,  population  ;    in  a 
word,  EVERYTHING  whicji  con- 
stitutes   the    power   of    the 
state." — Volney'^s  Travels,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  378,  379,  412,477. 
Ye  shall  be  as  a  garden  that      "  The   remams  of  cisterns 
hathno  water, /5a.  i.,30.  How  are  to  be  found  (throughout 
long  shall  the  land  mourn,  and  Judea)  in  which  they  collected 
the  herbs  of  every  field  wither,  the  rain  water ;  and  traces  of 
for  the  tmcA^e</ne55  of  them  that  the    canals    by    which    these 
dwell  therein  1     Jer.  xii.,  4.       waters    were    distributed    on 

the  fields .'''' — Malle-Brun's  Ge- 
ography, vol.  ii.,  p.  150,  151. 
"  We  here  see  none  of  that  gay 
carpeting  of  grass  and  flowers 
which  decorate  the  meadows 
of  Normandy  and  Flanders. 
The  land  of  Syria  has  almost 
always  a  dusty  appearance. 
Had  not  these  countries  been 
rataged  by  the  hands  of  man, 
they  might  perhaps  at  this  day 
have  been  shaded  by  forests." 
—  Volney's  Travels^  vol.  ii.,  p. 
369. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  31 

And  the  cities  that  are  in-  "  Every  day  I  found  in  my 
habited  shall  be  laid  waste,  route  villages  deserted  and  ci^ 
and  they  shall  know  that  I  am  ies  in  ruins." — Volney's  Ruins, 
the  Lord,  EzeJc.  xii.,  20.  c.  i. 

When  thus  it  shall  be  in  the  "  I  looked  for  the  ancient 
midst  of  the  land  among  the  people  and  their  works :  and 
people,  there  shall  be  as  the  all  that  I  could  find  was  ^ faint 
shaking  of  an  olive-tree,  and  trace,  like  to  what  the  foot  of 
as  the  gleaning  of  tb='  grapes  the  passenger  leaves  on  the 
when  the  vintage  is  done,  //*.,  sand." — Volney^s  Ruins^  c.  ii. 
13.  The  glory  of  Jacob  si  .ail 
be  made  thin,  Isa.  xvii.,  4. 

But  yet  in  it  shall  be  a  tenth ;  "  The  land  of  the  plains  is 
and  it  shall  return  and  shall  be  fat  and  loamy,  and  exhibits 
eaten,  as  a  teil-tree,  and  as  an  every  sign  of  the  greatest  fe- 
oak,  whose  substance  is  in  them,  cundity.  Were  nature  assist- 
when  they  cast  their  leaves,  ed  by  art,  the  productions  of 
Isa.  vi.,  13.  the    most    distant    countries 

might  be  produced  within  the 
distance  of  twenty  leagues." 
—  Volney''s   Travels,  vol.  i.,  p. 
308,  317.     "  Galilee  would  be 
a  paradise  were  it  inhabited 
by  an  industrious  people,  un- 
der  an    enlightened   govern- 
ment."— Malte-Brun's  Geogra- 
phy, vol.  ii.,  p.  148. 
The  city  that  went  out  by  a      "A  tract  from  which  a  hun- 
thousand  shall  leave  a  hun-  dred  individuals  draw  a  scan- 
dred,  Amos  v.,  3.  ty  subsistence  formerly  main- 

tained thousands y — Pierre  Be- 
lo,  quoted  by  Malte-Brun. 

I  will  make  Samaria  as  a  "  This  great  city  is  wholly 
heap  of  the  field,  and  as  plant-  converted  into  gardens." — 
ings  of  a  vineyard.  MaundrelVs  Travels,  p.  78. 

And  I  will  pour  down  the  "  The  relative  distance,  lo- 
stones  thereof  into  the  val-  cal  position,  and  unaltered 
ley,  and  I  will  discover  the  name  of  Sebaste,  leave  no 
foundations  thereof,  Micah  i.,  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  its 
6.  site  ;  and  its  local  features  are 

equally  seen  in   the    threat  of 
Micah." — Buckingham'' s  Trav- 
els in  Palestine,  p.  511,  512. 
O  Canaan,  the  land  of  the      "  In  the  plain  between  Ram- 
Philistines,  1  will   even  de-  la   and   Gaza"    (the  plain  of 
8troy  you :  The  seacoast  shall  the  Philistines,  along  the  sea- 
be  dwellings  and  cottages  for  coast),    "  the   houses   are    so 
shepherds,  and  folds  for  flocks,  many    huts,    sometimes    de- 
Zeph.  ii:,  5, 6.  tached,  at  others  ranged  in  the 


32  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    TIIE 

form  of  cells  around  a  court- 
yard, enclosed  by  a  mud  wall. 
In  winter  they  and  their  catlle 
may  be  said  to  live  together. 
-»  the  part  of  the  dwelling  allotted 

for  themselves  being  only 
raised  two  feet  above  that  in 
which  \\\ey  lodge  their  beasts^ 
—  Volney's  Travels f\o\.  ii.,  p. 
335. 
The  remnant  of  the  Philis-  "  All  the  rest  is  a  desert." 
tines  shall  perish,  Amos  i.,  8.    — Ibid..,  p.  336. 

I  will  send  a  fire  upon  the  "ThenitWof  white  marble 
wall  of  Gaza,  which  shall  de-  sometimes  found  at  Gaza 
vour  the  palaces  thereof,  lb.  7.  prove  that  it  was  formerly  the 

abode    of   luxury    and    opu- 
lence."—  Volney's  Trav€ls,\o\. 
ii.,  p.  340.    . 
The  king  shall  perish  from      "  It  is  no  more  than  a  de- 
Gaza,  Zech.  ix.,  5.     Baldness  fenceless  village." — Ibid.,   p. 
is  come  upon  Gaza,  Jer.  xlvii.,  340. 
5. 

AsKELON  shall  be  a  desola-      "  The  deserted  ruins  of  Az- 
tion,    Zeph.    ii.,    4.     Askelon  kalan." — Ibid.,  p.  338. 
shall  not  be  inhabited,  Zech. 
ix.,  5. 

I  will  cut  off  the  inhabitants  "  We  met  successively  with 
from  Ashdod,  Amos  i.,  8.  various  ruins,  the  most  con- 

siderable of  which  are  at  Ez- 
doud,  famous  at  present  for  its 
scorpions. " — Ibid. 
Lebanon    is    ashamed   and      "  Among  the  crags  of  the 
hewn   down,   Isa.   xxxiii.,  9.  rocks  (on  Lebanon)  may  be 
The  forest  of  the  vintage  is  seen  the  no  very  magnificent 
come  down,  Zech.  xi.,  2.   The  remains   of  the  boasted  ce- 
high  ones  of  stature  shall  be  dars." — Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  292. 
hewn  down,  &c.,  Isa.  x.,  33. 

The  rest  of  the  trees  of  his  "There  are  hut  four  or  five 
forest  shall  be  few  :  that  a  of  these  trees  which  deserve 
child  may  write  them,  Isa.  x.,  any  notice." — Volney''s  Trav- 
19.  els,  i.,  292. 

Ammon.     I  will  stretch  out      "  All  this  country,  formerly 
my  hand  upon  thee.     I  will  so  populous  and  flourishing,  is 
destroy  thee,  Ezek.  xxv.,  7.      now  changed  into  a  vast  des- 
ert."—-Seei^ew'^  Trav.,  p.  34. 
I  will  deliver  thee  for  a  spoil      "  The  far  greater  part  of  the 
to  the  heathen,  Ibid.  country  is  uninliabited,  being 

abandoned  to   the  wandering 
Arabs."— Jit</.,  p.  37. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  33 

1  will   make  Rabbah   (the      "  We  met  numbers  of  Arabs 
chief  city)  of  the  Ammonites  with  their  camels." — Ibid. 
a  stable  for  camels, 

And  a  couching  place  for  "The keepers  drive  in  goats 
flocks,  Ezek.  xxv.  5.  for  shelter  during  the  night." 

Mr.  Buckingham  relates,  that 
at  Amman  he  "  lay  down 
among  flocks  of  sheep  and 
goats,  and  that  he  was  almost 
entirely  prevented  from  sleep- 
ing by  the  bleating  offlocksy — 
Travels  among  the  Arab  Tribes, 
p.  72,  73. 
Rabbah  shall  be  a  desolate  "  The  buildings  exposed  to 
heap,  Jer.  xlix.,  2.  the  atmosphere  are  all  in  de- 

cay.    The    plain    is    cavered 
with  the  remains  of  private 
buildings,"  &c. — BurckhardVs 
Travels  in  Syria,  p.  359,  360. 
MoAB.     The    spoiler    shall      "The  rmw»' of  Eleale,  Hesh- 
come  upon  every  city,  and  no  bon,  Meon,  Dibon,  Aroer,  still 
city  shall  escape.     The  cities  subsist  to  illustrate  the  history 
thereof  shall  be  desolate,  with-  of  the  Beni  Israel."     Burck- 
out    any    to    dwell    therein,  hardt  enumerates  many  ruined 
Judgment  is  come  upon  all  the  sites  within  its  boundaries. — 
cities  of  the  land  of  Moab,  far  Travels  in  Nubia,  p.  38.     Trav- 
and  near,  Jer.  xlviii.,  8,  9.  els  in  Syria,  p.  370. 

The  days  come,  saith  the  Of  Moab,  Burckhardt  writes 
Lord,  that  I  will  send  unto  — "  Wherever  the  Bedouins 
Moab  wanderers,  that  shall  (wandering  Arabs)  are  masters 
cause  him  to  xvander.  Ibid.,  12.  of  the  cultivators,  the    latter 

are  soon  reduced  to  beggary 
by  their  unceasing  demands." 
— Travels  in  Syria,  p.  381. 
O  ye  that  dwell   in  Moab,       "The  wretched  peasants  re- 
leave  the  cities,  and  dwell  in  tire  among   the  rocks  which 
the  rock,  and  be  like  the  dove,  border  on  the  Dead   Sea." — 
that  maketh  her  nest   in  the   Fo/ney '5  Trai'eZ^,  vol.  ii., p.  334. 
sides  of  the  hole's  mouth,  Jer.  "  There  are  many  families  liv- 
xlviii.,  28.  ing  in  caverns" — "inhabitants 

of  the  rocks."  —  Seetzen's 
Travels,  p.  26.  "There  are 
many  artificial  caves  in  a  large 
range  of  perpendicular  cliffs, 
in  some  of  which  are  cham- 
bers and  small  sleeping  apart- 
ments,"—  Captains  Irby  and 
Mangles^  Travels,  p.  473. 
Moab  shall  be  a  derision.      "In  the  Valley  of  Wale,"  bor- 


34  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

As  the  wandering  bird  cast  out  dering  on  the  Arnon,  Burck- 
of  her  nest,  so  the  daughters  hardt  obserye.d  "  a  large  party 
of  Moab  shall  be  at  the  ford  of  of  Arabs  Shererat  encamped. 
Arnon,  Isa.  xvi.,  2.  They  wander  about  in  misery^ 

the  women  wearing  nothing 
but  a  loose  shirt  hanging  in 
rags  about  them." — Travels,  p. 
370,  371. 

EooM  (or  Idumea)  shall  be  "  The  traces  of  many  towns 
a  desolation.  I  will  make  thee  and  villages  are  met  with.  At 
most  desolate,  Jer.  xlix.,  17.  present  all  this  country  is  a 
Ezek.  XXXV.,  3.  desert, 

I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  "  And  Maan  (Teman,  as 
upon  Edom ;  and  will  make  it  marked  in  the  map  prefixed  to 
desolate  from  Teman,  Ezek.  Burckliardt's  Travels)  is  the 
XXV.,  13.  only  inhabited  place  in  it." — P. 

436. 

If  grape-gatherers  come  to  "  The  whole  plain  presented 
thee,  would  they  not  leave  to  the  view  an  expanse  of 
some  gleaning  grapes  ?  if  shifting  sands ;  the  depth  of 
thieves  by  night,  they  will  sand  precludes  all  vegetation 
destroy  till  they  have  enough,  of  herbage."  —  BurckhardVs 
But  I  have  made  Esau  bare.  Travels  in  Syria,  p.  442. 
Edom  shall  be  a  desert  wil- 
derness, Jer.  xlix.,  9,  10. 

I  will  stretch  out  upon  Idu-  "  On  ascending  the  western 
mea  (Edom)  the  line  of  con-  plain,  we  had  before  us  an  im- 
fusion  and  the  stones  of  empti-  mense  expanse  of  dreary 
ness.  country,  entirely  covered  with 

black  flints,  with  here  and 
there  some  hilly  chain  rising 
from  the  plain." — BurckhardCs 
Syria,  p.  444. 

Moreover,  the  word  of  the  "  It  is  from  the  summit  of 
Lord  came  unto  me,  saying,  (the  mountain)  El  Nakb  that 
son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  one  can  judge  of  the  general 
Edom,  and  prophecy  against  aspect  of  the  country,  of  the 
it,  and  say  unto  it,  Thus  saith  melancholy  and  dismal  state  of 
the  Lord  God,  behold,  O  Mount  which  it  is  difficult  to  convey 
Seir,  I  am  against  thee,  and  I  an  idea  with  the  pencil  alone, 
will  stretch  out  mine  hand  Many  prophets  have  announ- 
against  thee,  and  I  will  make  ced  the  misery  of  Idumea,  but 
thee  most  desolate,  &c.,-B^eA:.  the  strong  language  of  Eze- 
XXXV.,  1,  2,  3.  kiel  can  alone  adequately  de- 

scribe this  great  desolation." 
— Lahorde, 

I  will  lay  thy  cities  waste ;  "  The  following  ruined  pla- 
and  thou  shalt  be  desolate,  O  ces  are  situated  in  Djebal  She- 
Mount  Seir,  Ezek.  xxxv.j  3, 4.  ra  (Mount  Seir),  Kalaab,  Djir- 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  35 

ba,  Eyl,  Ferdakh,  Anyk,  Bir- 
el-Beytar,  Shemakh,  and  Syk." 
—Ibid.,  p.  443,  444. 
I  will  make  thee  perpelu-      "  Of  the  towns  laid  down  in 
al  desolations,  and  thy  cities  D'Anville's  map,  Thoana  ex- 
shall  not  return,  ^^reA-.xxxv.,  9.  cepted,    no    traces    remain." 

—Ihid. 
I  will  make  thee  small  "  The  ruins  of  the  city  (of 
among  the  heathen:  thy  ter-  Petra.  or  the  Rock,  the  capital 
ribleness  liath  deceived  thee,  of  Edom)  burst  on  Vhq  view  in 
and  the  pride  of  thine  heart,  their  full  grandeur,  shut  in  on 
O  thou  that  dwellest  in  the  the  opposite  side  by  barren 
clefts  of  the  rock,  that  boldest  craggy  precipices,  from  which 
the  height  of  the  hill;  though  numerous  ravines  and  valleys 
thou  shouldst  make  thy  nest  branch  out  in  all  directions ; 
as  high  as  the  eagle,  I  will  the  sides  of  the  mountains 
bring  thee  down  from  thence,  covered  with  an  endless  vari- 
saith  the  Lord.  Also  Edom  ety  of  excavated  tombs  and 
shall  be  a  desolation,  ./er.  xhx.,  private  dwellings,  presented 
15,  16,  17.  altogether  the  most  singular 

scene  we  ever  beheld." — Irhy 

and  Mangles^  Travels,  p.  422. 

"  The  rocks  are  hollowed  out 

into  innumerable  chambers  of 

different  dimensions,"   &c. — 

MackmichaeVs  Journey,  p.  228. 

"  Some  of  them  are  so  high, 

and  the  side  of  the  mountain 

is    so   perpendicular,   that   it 

seems  impossible  to  approach 

the  uppermost,"  &c. — Burck- 

hardVs  Travels,  p.  422. 

I  will  make  thee  perpetual      "  I  would   that  the  skeptic 

desolations,  and  thy  cities  shall  could   stand  as   I  did  among 

not  return,  and  ye  shall  know  the  ruins  of  this  city  among 

that    I  am    the    Lord^   Ezek.  the  rocks,  and  there  open  the 

XXXV.,  9.  sacred    book    and    read    the 

Every  one  that  goeth  by  it  words  of  the  inspired  penman, 

shall  be  astonished,  Jer.  xlix.,  written   when    this    desolate 

17.  place  was  one  of  the  greatest 

cities  in  the  world.  I  see  the 
scoff  arrested,  his  cheek  pale, 
his  lip  quivering,  and  his  heart 
quaking  with  fear,  as  the  ru- 
ined city  cries  out  to  him  in  a 
voice  loud  and  powerful  as 
that  of  one  risen  from  the 
dead;  though  he  would  not 
believe  Moses  and  the  proph- 


36  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

ets,  he  believes  the  handwri- 
ting of  God  himself,  in  the  des- 
olation and  eternal  ruin  around 
him." — Stephens'' s  Incidents  of 
Travel  in  Arabia  Petraa,  <Sfc. 
Vol.  ii.,  p.  68. 
They  shall  be  called  the  bor-      The  Arabs  in  Edom  are  call- 
der   of  wickedness,   iWa/acAi  ed  "  a  most  savage  and  treach- 
»..  4.  erous  race."— ir^y  and  Man- 

gles.    "They  have  the   repu- 
tation^''^ says  Burckhardt,  "of 
being  very    daring  thieves." 
And  Pococke  describes  them 
as  "  a  very  bad  people,  and 
notorious  robbers." — Vol.  i., 
p.  136. 
They  shall  call  the  nobles      "  There  is  not  a  single  hu- 
thereof  to  the  kingdom,  but  man  being  living  near  it." — 
none  shall  be  there ;   and  all  Irby  and  Mangles'  Travels,  p. 
her  princes  shall  be  nothing,  439.     The  sepulchres  are  nu- 
Ua.  xxxiv.,  12.  merous  and  magnificent ;  and 

"great,"     says     Burckhardt, 
"  must  have  been  the  opulence 
of  a  city  which  could  dedicate 
such  a  monument  to  the  mem- 
ory of  its  rulers." — P.  425. 
Thorns  shall  come  up  in  her      "  Most  of  the  plants  at  Pe- 
palaces,  nettles  and  brambles  tra    are    thorny." — Irby    and 
m  the  fortresses  thereof,  Isa.  Mangles' Trav., ip.  i35.     "The 
xxxiv.,  13.  thorns,"  as  described  by  La- 

borde, "  rise  to  the  same  height 
with  the   columns ;   creeping 
and  prickly  plants  hide  the  re- 
mains of  the  works  of  man  ; 
the  thorn  or  bramble  reaches 
the    top   of  the   monuments, 
grows  on  the  cornices,  and  con- 
ceals the  base  of  the  columns." 
Shall  I  not  destroy  the  wise      Even  the  clearing  away  of 
men  out  of  Edom,  and  under-  rubbish  merely  "  to  allow  the 
standing  out  of  the  Mount  of  water  to  flow"  into  an  ancient 
Esaul     Obad.,  ver.  8.  cistern,  in  order  to  render  it 

useful  to  themselves,  is  spo- 
ken of  by  Burckhardt  "  as  an 
undertaking  far  beyond  the 
views  of  the  wandering  Ar- 
abs."— Burckhardt' s  Travels^ 
p.  366. 
The    cormorant    (Hebrew,      "  The  bird  Katta  is  met  with 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  37 

Kath)   shall  possess  it,  Isa.  in  immense   numbers  ;    they 

xxxiv.,  11.  fly  in  such  large  flocks,  that 

the  Arab  boys  often  kill  two 
or  three  of  them  at  a  time, 
merely  by  throwing  a  stick 
among  them." — BurckhardC  s 
Trav.,  p.  406. 
TTie  owl  shall  dwell  in  it,      "  Eagles,  hawks,  and  ovM 

Ibid.  were  soaring  in  conpiderable 

numbers  above  our  heads, 
seemingly  annoyed  at  any 
one  approaching  their  lonely 
habitation.''''  —  Irby  and  Man- 
gles^ Trav.,  p.  415. 
And   the  raven  (or  crow)      "  The  fields  of  Tafyle,"  in 

shall  dwell  in  it,  Ibid,  the     immediate    vicinity    of 

Edom,  "  are  frequented  by  an 

immense  number  of  crows." 

— Burckhardt''s  Travels,  p.  405. 

"  It  shall  be  a  habitation  of      "  The    Arabs    in    general 

dragons,  Ibid.^  13.  avoid    them    (the    ruins    in 

Edom)   on    account    of    the 
enormous      scorpions      with 
which    they    swarm." — Vol- 
ney's  Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  344. 
The  satyr  (or  goat)  shall      "  Large  herds  of  mountain 

cry  to  his  fellow.  Ibid.,  14.        goats  are  met  with." — Burck- 

hardt,  p.  405. 
Nineveh.    He  will  make  an      The  mounds  "  show  neither 

utter  end  of  the  place  thereof,  bricks,  stones,  nor  other  ma- 

I  will  make  thy  grave ;  for  terials   of   building ;   but   are 

thou  art  vile,  Nahum  i.,  8, 14.  in    many  places    overgrown 

with  grass."  —  Buckingham's 
Travels  in   Mesopotamia^  vol. 
ii.,  p.  49,  &c. 
She    is    empty,   void,  and      "  Eastward  of  the  Tigris,  at 

waste,  Ibid,  ii.,  10.  the  end  of  the  bridge  of  Mo- 

sul, the  great  Nineveh  had 
formerly  been  erected:  the 
city,  and  even  the  ruins,  had 
long  since  disappeared ;  the 
VACANT  SPACE  afforded  a  spa- 
cious field  for  the  operation 
of  the  two  armies." — Gibbon's 
IIist.,\o\.  viii.,  p.  250,  251. 
Thy  crowned  are  as  locusts,      "  Where  are  those  ramparts 

and  thy  captains  as  the  great  of  Nineveh  V — Volney's  Ru- 

gra&shoppers  which  flee  away,  ins,  c.  ii. 

and   the  place  is  not  known  ,  .r_:.^r^^,  r-^-^ 

^  1?  TH1«  ^^^J^^ 

HITBRSITT 


38  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

where  they  were,  Nahum  iii., 
17. 

The  Lord  liath  given  a  com-  "  The  name  of  Nineveh 
mandment  concerning  thee,  seems  to  be  threatened  with 
that  no  more  of  thy  name  be  the  same  obHvion  that  has 
sown.  Ibid,  i.,  14.  overtaken  its    greatness."  — 

Ibid.f  c.  iv. 

Tyre.     Tyre    shall    be    a      "Instead  of    that   ancient 

place    for    the    spreading  of  commerce,  so  active   and  so 

nets  in   the  midst  of  the  sea,  extensive.  Sour  (Tyre)  is  re- 

Ezek.  xxvi.,  5.  duced  to  a  miserable  village. 

They  live   obscurely  on  the 

produce  of  their  little  ground 

and  a   trifling  fishery y—Vo1- 

ney's  Travels^   vol.  ii.,   p.  212, 

225. 

Egypt.     I  will  lay  the  land       "  Deprived      twenty-three 

waste  and  all  that  is  therein,  centuries  ago  of  her   natural 

by  the  hand  of  strangers.  Ibid,  proprietors,  she  has  seen  her 

XXX.,  12.  fertile   fields   successively   a 

prey    to    the    Persians,   the 

Macedonians,    the    Romans, 

the  Greeks,  the   Arabs,  the 

Georgians,  and,  at  length,  the 

race  of  Tartars  distinguished 

by    the    name    of    Ottoman 

Turks:'— Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  74, 

103. 

It  shall  be  a  base  kingdom,      "  Egypt  above  five  hundred 

the  basest  of  kingdoms.  Ibid,  years  has  been  under  the  ar- 

xxix.,  15.  bitrary  dominion  of  strangers 

and  slaves." — Gibbon's  Hist., 
vol.  vi.,  p.  109. 
The  Arabs.  I  will  make  They  are  "armed  against 
him  (Ishmael)  a  great  nation,  mankind."  "  A  single  rob- 
Ilis  hand  shall  be  against  ber  or  a  few  associates  are 
every  man,  and  every  man's  branded  with  their  genuine 
hand  shall  be  against  him,  name  ;  but  the  exploits  of  a 
Gen.  xvi.,  12.  numerous  band  (of  Arabs)  as- 

•  sume  the  character  of  a  law- 
ful and  honourable  war." — 
Ibid.,  vol.  ix.,p.  237. 

CHALDEA,  OR   BABYLONIA. 

Chaldea.  I  will  punish  the  "These  splendid  accounts 
land  of  the  Chaldeans,  Jer.  of  the  Babylonian  lands  yield- 
XXV.,  12.  I  will  send  unto  ing  crops  of  grain  two  or 
Babylon  fanners,   that    shall  three  hundred  fold,  compared 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  39 

fan  her,  and  empty  her  land,  with  the  modern  face  of  the 
&c.,  Jer.  li.,  2.  country,  afford  a  remarkable 

proof  of  the  singular  desola- 
tion to  which  it  has  been  sub- 
jected."— Transactions  of  the 
Literary  Society,  Bombay,  vol. 
i.,  p.  123.    It  is  an  "  immeas- 
urable wild,  bounded  only  by 
the  desest,"  "  a  barren  waste," 
"  a  bare  desert,"   "  a  barren 
country,"  &c. — Capt.  Mignan's 
Travels,  p.  31 ;  Major  KeppeVs 
Narrative,    vol.    i.,     p.     260; 
Buckingham'' s  Travels  in  Meso- 
potamia, vol.  ii.,  p.  242,  &c. 
A  drought  is  upon  her  wa-      "  The  canals  at  present  can 
ters,  and  they  shall  be  dried  only  be  traced  by  their  de- 
up, /er.  l.,38.   Behold  the  hin-  cayed  banks." — Bombay  Lit. 
dermost  of  the  nations,  a  wil-  Trans.,  p.    138.     "They  are 
derness,   a   dry  land,    and  a  now    dry   and   neglected." — 
desert, /er.  1.,  12  ;  li.,43.  Rich's  Memoirs,  p.  4.     "The 

absence  of  all  cultivation,  the 
steril,  arid,  and  wild  charac- 
ter of  the  scene,  formed  a 
contrast  to  the  rich  and  de- 
lightful accounts  delineated  in 
Scripture."  —  Mignan's  Trav- 
els, p.  5. 
Her  cities  are  a  desolation.  The  ancient  cities  of  Chal- 
Ibid.  dea  "  no  longer  exist." — Major 

RennelVs  Geography  of  Herodo- 
tus, p.  335.  The  more  mod- 
ern cities,  which  flourished 
under  the  empire  of  the  ca- 
lifs, "  are  all  in  ruins." — Mig- 
nan's  Travels,  App.  "  The 
whole  country  is  strewed  over 
with  the  debris  of  Grecian, 
Roman,  and  Arabian  towns, 
confounded  in  the  same  mass 
of  rubbish."  —  Malte-Brun's 
Geography,  vol.  ii.,  p.  119. 
Babylon*  shall  become  Babylon  has  become  "  a 
heaps,  Jer.  Ii.,  31.  Is.  xiii.,  vast  succession  of  mounds," 
xiv.    Jer.  1.,  li.  "  a  great     mass    of    ruined 

*  The  prophetic  history  of  the  decline  and  fall  of  Babylon,  from  its  first 
capture  to  its  present  desolation,  is  so  copious  as  to  occupy  ninety  pagRs 
of  the  Evidence  of  Prophecy,  in  illustration  of  as  many  predictions. 


40 


EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 


Ca«t  her  up  as  heaps,  Jer. 
1.,  26. 


And    destroy    her  utterly, 
Ibid. 


Let  nothing  of  her  be  left, 
Ibid. 


I  will  make  it  pools  of  water, 
//.  xiv.,  23. 


Sit  on  the  dust,  sit  on  the 
ground,  0  daughter  of  the 
Chaldeans,  Is.  xlvii.,  1. 

Thy  nakedness  shall  be  un- 
covered, Is.  xlvii.,  3. 


heaps,"  "  uneven  ht  aprt  of 
various  sizes.  The  larj?ei  ru- 
ins have  the  appearance  of 
irregular  and  misshapen  hills, 
the  lesser  form  a  succession 
of  little  hillocks."  —  Keppel 
Porter,  Rich,  Mignan,  Buck- 
ingham, &C. 

"  Iji  seeking  for  bricks,  tho 
workmen  pierce  into  the 
mound  in  every  direction, hol- 
lowing out  deep  ravines  and 
pits,  and  throwing  up  the  rub- 
bish in  heaps  on  the  surface."  , 
— Rich's  Memoir,  p.  22. 

"  From  the  excavations  in 
every  possible  shape  and  di- 
rection, the  regular  lines  of 
the  original  ruins  have  been 
so  broken  that  nothing  but 
confusion  is  seen  to  exist." — 
Sir  R.  K.  Porter's  Travels,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  338. 

"  Vast  heaps  constitute  all 
that  now  remains  of  ancient 
Babylon."  —  KeppeVs  Narra- 
tive, vol.  i.,  p.  196.  Some  of 
the  heaps  are  "  completely 
exhausted  of  all  building  lua 
terials ;  and  nothing  is  now 
left  but  heaps  of  earth  and 
fragments  of  brick."  —  Mig- 
nan's  Travels,  p.  199,  200. 
Porter's  Travels,  ZbQ,Z2Q,&c. 

"  The  ground  is  sometimes 
covered  with  pools  of  water  in 
the  hollows."  "  The  plain  is 
covered  at  intervals  with  small 
pools  of  water."  —  Bucking- 
ham's Travels  in  Mesopotamia^ 
vol.  ii.,  p.  296.  Porter,  Kep- 
pel, &c. 

"  The  whole  face  of  the  coun- 
try is  covered  with  vestiges  of 
buildings." — Rich,  p.  2. 

"  I  am  perfectly  incapable  of 
conveying  an  adequate  idea," 
says  Captain  Mignan,  "  of  the 
dreary,  lonely  nakedness  that 
appeared  before-me." — P.  116. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  41 

Sit  thou  silent,  and  get  thee      "  A  silent  and  sublime  soli- 
into  darkness,  Is.  xlvii.,  5.        tude,    a  silence  profound  as 

the  grave." — Porter's  Travels, 

vol.  ii.,  p.  294,  407. 

Because  of  the  wrath  of  the      Babylon, "  the  tenantless  and 

Lord  it  shall  not  be  inhabited,  desolate  metropolis." —  Mig' 

but  it  shall  be  wholly  desolate,  nan's  Travels,  p.  234.     "The 

Jer.  1.,  13.  eye   wandered  over  a  barren 

desert,  in  which  the  ruins  were 
nearly  the  only  indication  that 
it  had  been  inhabited," — Kep- 
peVs  J^arrative,  p.  196. 
It  shall  never  be  inhabited,  — "  Ruins,  composed  like 
Ibid,  xii.,  20.     Jer.  1.,  40,  &c.    those  of  Babylon,  of  heaps  of 

rubbish  impregnated  with  ni- 
tre, cannot  be  cultivated." — 
Rich's  Memoirs,  p.  16.  "  The 
decomposing  materials  of  a 
Babylonian  structure  doom 
the  earth  on  which  they  perish 
to  a  lasting  sterility." — Sir  R. 
K.  Porter's  Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p. 
391. 
Nor  dwelt  m  from  genera-  In  the  sixteenth  century 
Hon  to  generation,  Is.  xiii.,  20.  "there  was  not  a  house  to  be 

seen"  at  Babylon. — Ray's  Col- 
lection of  Travels,  Rawolff,  p. 
174.  In  the  nineteenth  it  is 
still  "  desolate  and  tenantless.'^ 
— Mignan,  p.  234. 
Neither  shall  the  Arabian  "  I  saw  the  sun  sink  behind 
pitch  tent  there.  Ibid.        '        the  Mujelibah,"  says  Captain 

Mignan, "  and  obeyed  with  in- 
finite regret  the  summons  of 
my  guides,"  Arabs  completely 
armed.     He  "  could  not  per- 
suade them  to  remain  longer, 
from  the  apprehension  of  evil 
spirits.     It    is   impossible    to 
eradicate  this  idea  from  the 
minds    of    these    people." — 
Travels,   p.  2,  168,  201,  335. 
Buckingham,  &c. 
Neither  shall  the  shepherds      "  All  the  people  of  the  country 
make  their  folds  tliere^Zs.  xiii.,  assert  that  it  is  extremely  dan- 
21.  gerous  to  approach  this  mound 

after  nightfall  on    account  of 
the  multitude  of  evil  spirits  by 
which  it  is  haunted." — Rich. 
D3 


42  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

p.  27.  "  By  this  superstitious 
belief  they  are  prevented  from 
pitcliing  a  tent  by  night,  or 
making  a  fold." 
But  wild  beasts  of  the  desert  "There  are  dens  of  wild 
shall  lie  there.  leasts    in    various    parts." — 

Rich's  Memoir,  p.  30.     Porter ^ 
Keppelj  Buckingham,  &c. 
And  their  houses  shall  be      These  dens  or  caverns  "  are 
full  of  doleful  creatures.  the  retreat  of  jackalls,  hyenas, 

and  other  noxious  animals." 
"  The  '  strong  ordure'  or 
*  loathsome  smell'  which  is- 
sues from  most  of  them  is 
sufficient  warning  not  to  pro- 
ceed into  the  den." — KeppeVs 
Narrative,  p.  179, 180.  Porter's 
Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  342,  &c. 
And  owls  shall  dwell  there,  "  In  most  of  the  cavities  are 
numbers  of  bats  and  owls." 
"  Thousands  of  bats  and  owls 
have  filled  many  of  these  cavi- 
ties."— Rich's  Memoir,  p.  30. 
Mignan's  Travels,  p.  167. 
And  satyrs  (goats)  shall  "  The  caves"  and  *' their  en- 
dance  there,  trances     are     strewed    with 

bones  of  sheep  and  goats." — 
Mignan,  p.  167.  Porter's  Trav- 
els, vol.  ii..  p.  342. 
And  wild  beasts  of  the  isl-      "  We  had  no  doubt,"  says 
ands  shall  cry  in  their  deso-  Major  Keppel,  "  ag  to  the  sav- 
late  houses  (or  palaces),  age  nature  of  the  inhabitants. 

Wild  beasts  are  numerous  at 
the  Mujilibie,"  one  of  the  lar- 
gest of  the  heaps,  supposed  to 
have  been  the  palace. 
And  dragons  in  their  pleas-       "  Venomous  reptiles  are  very 
ant  palaces,  Isa.  xiii.,  21,  22.    numerous  throughout  the  ru- 
ins."—  Mignan  s    Travels,   p. 
168. 
Cut  off  the  sower  from  Bab-      "  On  this  part  of  the  plain, 
ylon,  and  him  that  handleth  both  where  traces  of  buildings 
the  sickle  in  the  time  of  har-  were  left  and  where  none  had 
vest,  Jer.  1.,  16.  stood,    all     seemed     equally 

naked  of  vegetation." — Por- 
ter's Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  392. 
"  The  eye  wandered  over  a 
barren  desert,  in  which  the 
ruins  were  nearly  the  only  in- 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  43 

dication  that  it  had  ever  been 
inhabited."  —  KeppeVs  Narra- 
tive, p.  196. 
The  sea  is  come  upon  Bab-      "  For    the    space   of    two 

ylon ;  she  is  covered  with  the  months  throughout  the  year, 

multitude  of  the  waves  there-  the  ruins  of  Babylon  are  in- 

of, /er.  li.,42.  undated  by  the  annual  over- 

flowing of  the  Euphrates, 
Neither    doth    any    son   of      So  as  to  render  many  parts 

man  pass  thereby,  Isa.  li.,  43.  of  them  inaccessible  by  con- 
verting the  valleys  into  mo- 
*       rasses." — Rich's  Memoir,  \i.l'i. 
SirR-  JK.  Porter,  Buckingham f 
&c. 
A  desolation,  a  dry  land,  and      After  the  subsiding  of  the 

a  wilderness,  Jer.  li.,  43.  waters,  even  the  low  heaps 

become  again  "  sun-burned 
ruins,"  and  the  site  of  Babylon, 
like  that  of  the  other  cities  of 
Chaldea,  is  "  a  dry  waste," 
"  a  parched  and  burning  plain." 
— Buckingham's  Travels,  vol. 
ii.,  p.  302,  305.  KeppeVs  Nar- 
rative, i.,p.  196. 
It  shall  be  wholly  desolate,      "  A  more  complete  picture  of 

Jer.  1.,  13.  desolation  could  not  well  be 

imagined."  —  KeppeVs  Narra 
tive,  p.  196.     Sir  R.  K.  For 
ter's  Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  392. 
Bel  (the  temple  of  Belus)      The    loftiest    temple    ever 

boweth  down,  Isa.  xlvi.,  1.        built  is  nothing  now  but  the 

highest  heap  in  Babylon,  bow- 
ed down  to  little  more  than 
the  third  part  of  its  original 
height.  "  The  whole  mound 
is  a  ruin." — Rich's  Memoir,  p. 
37. 
Bel  is  confounded,  Jer.  1.,  2.  "The  whole  summit  and 
sides  of  this  mountainous  ruin 
are  furrowed  by  the  weather 
and  by  human  violence  into 
deep  hollows  and  channels." 
— Mignan's  Trav.,Tp.  210.  Por- 
ter, Rich,  &c. 
I   will  make  thee  a  burnt      "  The   Birs    Nimrood    pre- 

mountain,  Jer.  li.,  25.  sents  the  appearance  of  a  cir- 

cular hill."  —  Rich's  Memoir, 
p.  35.  "  It  is  strewed  over 
with  petrified  and  vitrified  sub- 


44  EXISTING   PROOFS    OP   THE 

Stances."  —  Mignan's  Travels^ 
p.  10.  "  On  the  summit  are 
immense  fragments  of  brick- 
work, of  no  determinate  fig- 
ure, tumbled  together"  {con- 
founded), *'  and  converted  into 
solid  vitrified  masses." — Rich's 
Memoirs,  p.  36.  "The  change 
exhibited  on  which  is  only 
accountable  from  their  hav- 
ing been  exposed  to  the  fier- 
cest fire,  or  rather  scathed  by- 
lightning." —  Mignan's  Trav- 
els, p.  208.  They  are  "  com- 
pletely molten,"  and  "ring 
like  glass."  —  Keppel,  p.  194. 
Sir  R.  K.  Porter's  Travels, 
vol.  ii.,  p.  308,  326. 
I  will  stretch  out  my  hand  "  Throughout  the  whole  of 
against  thee,  and  roll  thee  these  awful  testimonies  of  the 
down  from  the  rocks,  Jer.  li.,  fire  (whatever  fire  it  was !), 
85.  which  doubtless    hurled    them 

from    their    original   elevation, 
the   regular  lines  of  cement 
are  visible." — Sir  R.  K.  Por- 
ter's Travels,  vol.  ii.,  p.  312. 
They  shall  not  take  of  thee      "  The  vitrified  masses"  are 
a  stone   for  a  corner,  nor  a  unfit  for  either  use ;  and  the 
stone    for    foundations,    but  bricks  in  other   parts  of  the 
thou  shalt    be    desolate   for  ruinous  heap,  "  cannot  be  de- 
ever,  Jer.  Ii.,  26.  tached   whole."      It    cannot, 

therefore,  be  rebuilt.  —  Mig' 
nan's  Travels,  p.  206.     Porter, 
Rich,  Buckingham,  &c. 
Merodach   (the    palace)  is      "The  Mujelibie  is  a  mass 
broken  in  pieces,  Jer.  1.,  2.       of  confusion,  none  of  its  mem- 
bers being  distinguishable." — 
Buckingham's  Travels,  vol.  ii., 
p.  273.     "  On  the  southeast 
it  is  cloven  into  a  deep  furrow 
from  top  to  bottom." — Mig- 
nan,  p.  166. 
Thou  shalt  be  brought  down      ^^  The  sides  o{  the  ruin  ex- 
to  the  sides  of  the   pit,  Isa.  hibit  hollows  worn   partly  by 
xiv.,  15.  the  weather,"  &c.     "  All  the 

sides  are  worn  into  furrows." 
—  Mignan's  Travels,    p.   167. 
Rich's  Memoirs,  p  29. 
Thy  pomp  is  brought  down      "  This  very  pile  was  once 


i 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  45 

to  the  grave,  and  the  noise  of  the  seat  of  luxury  and  vice ; 

thy  viols,  Isa.  xiv.,  11.  now  abandoned  to  decay,'"  <fec. 

— Mignari's  Travels^  p.  172. 
The  worm  is  spread  under       "  The  base  is  greatly  injured 

thee ;  and    the   worms  cover  by  time   and   the  elements." 

thee,  Isa.  xiv.,  il.  — Ibid.,  p.  166.     "  'Vh.e summit 

is  covered  with  heaps  of  rub- 
bish."— Rich's  Memoir,  p.  29. 
"  The  mound  was  full  of  large 
holes,  strewed  with  the  car- 
casses and  skeletons  of  ani- 
mals recently  killed." — Kep- 
peVs  Narrative,  p.  179.  In  the 
w^arm  climate  of  Chaldea, 
wherever  these  are  strewed, 
worms  cannot  be  wanting. 
Thou   art   cast    out  of  thy       "  Several    deep   excavations 

grave    like     an     abominable  have  been  made  in  different 

branch,  Isa.  xiv.,  19.  places." —  Sir  R.  K.  Porter*s 

Travels,  vol.  ii.,  342.  After 
being  brought  down  to  the 
grave,  it  is  cast  out  of  it  again, 
for  "  many  of  the  excavations 
have  been  dug  by  the  rapacity 
of  the  Turks,  tearing  up  its 
bowels  in  search  of  hidden 
treasures." — Ibid. 
And  as  the  raiment  of  them      Several  of  the  large  holes, 

that  are  slain,  thrust  through  whereof  it  is  full,  "  penetrate 

with  a  sword,  very   far    into    the   body  of 

the  structure." — Ibid.,  p.  342. 

KeppsVs    Narrative,     p.    179. 

Mignan''s  Travels,  p.  171,  &c. 

That  go  down  to  the  stones      On  the  supposed  site  of  the 

of  the  pit ;  hanging  gardens  of  Babylon, 

near  to  the  palace,  there  are 
now  disclosed  to  view  "  two 
subterranean  passages,  cover- 
ed over  with  large  masses  of 
stone.  This  is  nearly  the 
only  place  where  stone  is  ob- 
servable." —  KeppeVs  Narra- 
tive, vol.  i.,  p.  205. 
As  a  carcass  trodden  under      "  The  Mujelibie  rises  in  a 

feet,  Isa.  xiv.,  19.  steep   ascent,  over  which  the 

passengers  can  only  go  up  by 
the  winding  paths  worn  by 
frequent  visits  to  the  ruined 
edifice  " — Buckingham's  Trav- 


46  KXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

elsj  p.  258.     From  the  least  to 
the  greatest  of  rhe  heaps,  they 
are  alJ  trodden  on.     "  The  ru- 
ins  of  Babylon  are   trodden 
under  foot  of  men." — Volnexps 
Ruins,  c.  iv. 
Her  idols   are  confounded,      "Engraved  marbles,  idols 
her    images    are    broken    in  of  clay,"    "small  figures  of 
pieces;  all  the  graven  images  brass'  and  copper,"    "bronze 
of  her  gods   he  hath  broken  figures  of  men   and  animals 
anto  ^he  ground,  Jer.  1.,  2.        are  found   among  the  ruins." 

— RennelVs  Geography  of  He- 
rodotus, p.  368.     Rich,  Porter, 
Mignan. 
The  broad  walls  of  Baby-      "  Where   are  the  walls  of 
Ion   shall   be   utterly  broken,  Babylon  V  asks  Volney,  Ru- 
Jer.  li.,  58.  ins,  c.  ii.     "  In  common  with 

other  travellers,"  says  Major 
Keppel,  "  we  totally  failed  in 
discovering  any  trace  of  the 
city  walls." — KepprVs  Narra- 
tive,  vol.  i.,    p.  175.     Bombay 
Literary  Transactions,  Captain 
Frederick     on     the    Ruins    of 
Babylon,    vol.  i.,  p    130,   131. 
Rich's  Memoirs,  p.  43,  44. 
Babylon  shall  be  an  aston-      "  1  cannot    portray,"  says 
ishment.     Every  one  that  go-  Captain   Mignan,  "  the  over- 
eth  by   shall   be  astonished,  powering  sensation  of  rever- 
Jer.  1.,  13  ;  li.,  37,  41.  ential  awe  that  possessed  my 

mind     while     contemplating 
the  extent   and  magnitude  of 
ruin  and  devastation  on  every 
side." — Mignan' s    Travels,   p. 
117.     Sir  R.  K.  Porter,  Rich, 
&c. 
The  Lord  will  do  his  pleas-      "  It  was  impossible  to  behold 
ure  in  Babylon,  Isa.  xlviii.,  14.  this  scene,  and  not  to  be  re- 
Eveiy   purpose  of  the    Lord  minded  of    how   exactly  the 
shall   be    performed    against  predictions  of  Isaiah  and  Jere- 
Babylon,  Jer:  1.,  29.     I  will  miah  have  been  fulfilled,  even 
bring  upon   that  land  all  my  in    the    appearance   Babylon 
words    which    I    have    pro-  was  doomed  to  present ;  that 
nounced   against  it,  even  all  she  should  never  be  inhabit- 
that  is   written  in  this  book,  ed ;  that  the  Arabian  should 
Jer.  XXV.,  13.  not  pitch  his  tent  there ;  that 

she  should  become  heaps ; 
that  her  cities  should  be  a 
desolation,  a  dry  land,  and  a 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  47 

wilderness !"  —  KeppeVs  Nar- 
rative, p.  197.  Rich,  Porter 
Mignan,  Buckingham,  &c. 

A  single  fact,  as  Fox  has  said,  is  worth  a  thousand  argu- 
ments ;  and  to  set  about  a  proof  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
Jewish  prophets,  after  having  placed  these  predictions  and 
facts  before  the  reader,  would  be  an  impeachment  of  his 
understanding,  as  incapable  of  comprehending  the  plainest 
•truth ;  and  of  his  heart,  as  seared  and  hardened  in  unbelief, 
beyond  the  po- sibility  of  conviction.  Adopting  again,  in  the 
conclusion  as  at  the  commencement,  the  definition  given  by 
an  enemy,  we  would  say,  "  if  by  a  prophet  we  are  to  sup- 
pose a  man  to  whom  the  Almighty  communicated  some 
event  that  would  take  place  in  future,  either  there  were  such 
men  or  there  were  not."  And  if  any  truth  be  so  clear  that 
it  cannot  be  misunderstood,  and  so  evident  that  it  cannot  be 
denied,  it  is  a  truth  that  there  were  such  men,  and  that  mani- 
fold events,  which  may  now  be  known  of  all  men,  were 
communicated  to  them,  which  God  alone  could  have  reveal- 
ed. The  prophecies  of  Scripture  bear  no  similitude  what- 
ever to  any  random  conjectures  of  future  events,  such  as 
short-sighted  mortals  could  form.  They  are  most  distinct 
and  definite  ;  and  the  events  which  they  marked,  with  all  the 
accuracy  which  the  closest  inspection  could  enable  an  eye- 
witness to  portray,  are  the  most  marvellous  that  have  ever 
been  recorded  in  the  history  of  the  world.  They  have  proved 
independent  of  a  thousand  contingences,  any  one  of  which 
might,  humanly  speaking,  have  rendered  each  of  them  abor- 
tive ;  and  their  fulfilment  is  the  result  of  a  countless  number 
and  variety  of  causes,  which,  in  a  long  succession  of  ages, 
have  all  successively  conspired  to  further,  and  ultimately  to 
perfect,  the  very  end  that  was  declared  from  the  beginning. 
Men  may  cavil  at  the  word  of  God  and  deride  his  judg- 
ments ;  but  from  the  high  places  of  infidelity,  witnesses  must 
come  forth  to  prove  that  his  word  is  true,  and  that  his  judg- 
ments are  sure  The  undesigned  and  conclusive  testimony 
of  the  talented  academician,  who,  without  a  pilgrim's  spirit, 
sojourned  long  in  the  land  of  Palestine,  is  worth  that  of 
many  pilgrims.  The  facts  which  he  adduced  and  accumu- 
lated, instead  of  showing,  as  he  thought,  that  all  revelation 
is  false,  and  that  belief  in  it  is  the  cause  of  desolation,  give 
direct  evidence  of  inspiration,  and  sho^  what  ruin  the  re- 
jection of  the  everlasting  covenant  has  wrought.  And  they 
need  but  to  be  placed,  as  above,  side  by  side  with  the  words 
of  the  prophets,  in  order  that  the  author  of  the  Ruins  of 
Cities  and  Revolutions  of  Empires  may  be  set  up  against  all 
men  beside,  who  would  gainsay  the  proved  truths,  that  the 
God  of  Israel  is  the  Lord,  and  that  the  prophets  spake  by 


48  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

the  inspiration  of  his  Spirit.  And  the  infidel  chief  not  only 
contends  like  an  indomitable  hero  in  our  cause,  but  thus 
irrefutably  reasons,  like  a  philosopher,  in  our  behalf. 

"  How  long  will  man  importune  the  heavens  with  unjust 
complaint?  How  long  with  vain  clamours  will  he  accuse 
Fate  as  the  author  of  his  calamities  ?  Will  he  then  never  open 
his  eyes  to  the  light,  and  his  heart  to  the  insinuations  of  truth 
and  reason  1  This  truth  everywhere  presents  itself  in  ra- 
diant brightness,  and  he  does  not  see  it !  The  voice  of  rea- 
son strikes  his  ear,  and  he  does  not  hear  it !  Unjust  man  ! 
if  you  can  for  a  moment  suspend  the  delusion  wiiich  fasci- 
nates yoi]r  senses  ;  if  your  heart  be  capable  of  comprehend- 
ing the  language  of  argumentation,  interrogate  these  ruins ! 
read  the  lessons  which  they  present  to  you !  A  nd  yon  sacred 
temples !  venerable  tombs  !  walls  once  glorious !  the  witness- 
es of  twenty  different  ages  appear  in  the  cause  of  nature  her- 
self!  come  to  the  tribunal  of  sound  understanding,  to  bear 
testimony  against  an  unjust  accusation,  to  confound  the  dec- 
lamations of  false  wisdom  or  hypocritical  piety,  and  avenge 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  of  the  man  who  calumniates 
them  !"  "  For  myself,  I  swear  by  all  laws,  human  and  divine, 
by  the  laws  of  the  human  heart,  that  the  hypocrite  and  the 
deceiver  shall  be  themselves  deceived ;  the  unjust  man  shall 
perish  in  his  rapacity,  and  the  tyrant  in  his  usurpation  ;  the 
sun  shall  change  its  course  before  folly  shall  prevail  over 
wisdom  and  science,  before  stupidity  shall  surpass  prudence 
in  the  delicate  art  of  procuring  to  man  his  true  enjoyments, 
and  of  building  his  happiness  upon  a  solid  foundation.  Thus 
spoke  the  apparition."* 

Believers  in  Jesus,  swear  not  at  all.  But  an  oath  for  con- 
firmation is  not  needful  to  show — nor  need  a  spiritiae  evoked 
to  tell — that  the  "  truth  presents  itself  in  radiant  brightness ;" 
that  if  the  voice  of  reason  were  heard,  and  the  delusion 
which  fascinates  the  senses  of  the  skeptic  were  suspended 
for  a  moment,  the  truth  would  be  clearly  seen  and  infallibly 
believed :  the  declamations  of  a  false  philosoph}-^  would  be 
confounded,  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  the  word  of 
Him  tha*t  made  them,  "  be  avenged  of  the  man  who  calum- 
niates them  ;"  that  the  deceiver  is  himself  deceived,  and  that  of 
Volney  and  of  each  of  his  compeers  it  may  be  said,  Thou 
art  the  man ;  and  that  "  the  sun  shall  change  its  course  be- 
fore folly  shall  prevail  over  wisdom  ;"  before  infidttity  shall 
triumph  over  faith  ;^ before  the  happiness  of  man  shall  be 
built  on  any  other  foundation  than  that  which  the  Lord  hath 
laid ;  and  before  any  or  all  the  gates  of  hell  shall  prevail 

♦  Volney's  Ruins,  c.  3.  English  Translation.  The  original,  which  is 
still  better,  ia  inserted  in  the  Appendix,  No.  1. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE    PROPHETS.  49 

Against  the  word  of  the  hving  God,  or  that  word  return  unto 
him  void,  or  IViil  to  fulfil  the  purpose  for  which  he  sent  it. 

What,  tlien,  but  lighter  than  air,  are  all  the  vapouring  dec- 
lamations of  ungodly  men  against  the  inspiration  of  the  Jew- 
ish prophets,  when  weighed  in  the  balance  of  right  reason, 
against  facts  so  luminous  and  argumentation  so  convincing] 
And  how  clearly,  so  that  the  dimmest  eye  may  see,  how 
loudly,  so  that  tlie  dullest  ear  may  hear,  do  all  these  events 
show  and  proclaim  that  they  were  "communicated  by  the 
Ahnighty;""  and  that  the  seers  of  Israel  were  the  prophets 
of  the  Lord  ?  And  when  a  man  like  Pnine,  or  Volney,  or 
Voltaire,  is  heard  to  declaim  against  the  inspiration  of  the 
prophets,  and  to  stigmatize  them  as  impostors  and  liars,  may 
not  every  man  who  has  eyes  to  see  clearly  discern  that  he 
is  one  of  those  false  teachers,  and  presumptuous  and  self-willed 
scoffers,  who,  as  also  foretold  in  Scripture,  were  to  arise  in 
the  last  days,  and  have  now  arisen,  who  speak  evil  of  the 
THINGS  THAT  THEY  UNDERSTAND  NOT;  icho  speak great  Swelling 
words  of  vaniti/  to  allure  others,  promising  them  liberty,  while 
they  themselves  are  the  children  of  corruption,  and  foaming  out 
their  own  shame  ?  And  may  we  not  look  on  such  a  man  as 
furnishing,  by  his  words  and  the  ignorance  they  display,  by 
his  acts  and  the  impiety  they  show  forth,  as  plain  a  proof, 
even  in  his  derision  against  it,  of  the  inspiration  he  denies, 
as  if  we  were  to  stand  on  any  of  the  ruins  of  Babylon,  and 
hear  the  cry  of  a  wild  beast,  the  hissing  of  a  serpent,  or  the 
hooting  of  an  owl,  or  as  if  we  saw  in  Petra  the  vultures 
gathered  every  one  with  her  mate,  and  heard  the  screech- 
owl  scream  in  the  midst  of  the  city  devoted  to  perpetual  des- 
olation ?  Without  convincing  himself  of  a  love  of  darkness, 
akin  to  that  of  the  bird  of  night,  no  man  can  "  shut  his  eyes 
against  the  light,  or  his  ear  against  the  voice  of  reason." 

If  asked  a  reason  of  our  faith  in  the  inspiration  of  the 
Prophets,  an  answer  may  be  given  to  every  question,  and  an 
event  may  be  shown  for  every  prediction.  Invoking  ruined 
cities  by  their  names.  Volney  exclaims,  "  Oh  names,  for  ever 
glorious!  celebrated  fields!  famous  countries !  how  replete 
is  your  aspect  with  sublime  instruction !  How  many  pro- 
found truths  are  written  on  the  surface  of  this  earth  !  Ye 
places  that  have  witnessed  the  life  of  man  in  so  many  different 
ages,  unveil  the  causes  of  his  misfortunes,  teach  him  true  wis- 
dom, and  let  the  experience  of  past  ages  become  a  mirror  of 
instruction,  and  a  germe  of  happiness  to  present  and  future 
generations  !"*  Let  skeptics,  then,  at  the  bidding  of  their  mas- 
ter, and  let  all  practical  as  well  as  professed  unbelievers,  if 
their  hearts  be  capable  of  comprehending  the  language  of  ar- 
gumentation or  the  evidence  of  facts,  interrogate  these  ruins. 

*  Volney's  Ruins. 
E 


50  EXISTING    PROOFS    OF    THE 

And,  without  consulting  a  seducing  spirit,  let  them  discern 
t})e  sublime  instruction  with  whieli  their  aspect  is  replete ; 
let  the  EXPKRiENGE  of  past  ages  and  the  sight  of  existing  facts 
be  a  niirrror  of  insiniclion,  in  which  to  view  the  radiant 
brightness  of  prophetic  inspiration;  and,  no  longer  slow  of 
heart  to  believe  what  Moses  and  the  Prophets  have  spoken, 
their  faith  shall  be  built  on  "a  solid  foundation." 

Light  from  heaven  rests  on  every  ruin  :  and  they  all  beam 
with  brighter  glories  and  are  full  of  richer  treasures  than 
ever.  Broken  wreaths  of  garlands  wrought  in  marble  ;  shat- 
tered symbols  of  imperial  power,  itself  gone  for  ever;  and 
fractured  fragments  of  senseless  gods,  all  graven  by  the 
hands  of  slaves;  columns  once  the  ornament  of  cities,  now 
memorials  of  the  places  where  they  stood  ;  palaces  converted 
into  heaps  of  dust,  and  walls  long  the  wonder  of  the  world, 
now  searched  for  in  vain,  set  forth  conspicuously  to  view 
the  withering  and  blasting  blight  that  has  passed  on  human 
glory.  But  He  who  makes  the  lichen  to  grow  upon  the  Ice- 
land rocks,  and  concentrates  on  them  the  substance  of  the 
richest  nourishment,  has  scattered  his  word  over  the  wide- 
spread field  of  ruins,  as  good  seed  covering  a  fertile  plain; 
and  that  word  needs  to  be  but  rationally  and  rightly  appre- 
hended in  "  every  heart  capable  of  comprehending  the  lan- 
guage of  argumentation,"  to  form,  in  a  manner  no  skeptic 
could  wot  of,  "  a  germe  of  happiness  to  present  and  future 
generations." 

"  The  profound  truths"  which  these  ruins  declare  "  are  so 
manifest  that  they  are  '  w^ritten  on  the  surface  of  the  earth.' 
Their  testimony  is  so  ample,  that  their  very  '  aspect  is  re- 
plete with  Divine  instruction  ;'  and  the  evidence  they  supply 
is  so  luminous  and  convincing,  that  each  fact  or  feature  an- 
swers to  the  written  word,  as,  in  a  '  mirror,'  face  answers  to 
face.  And  when  interrogated  touching  the  causes  of  man's 
misfortunes,  and  charged  to  teach  him  true  wisdom,  they  all 
— like  men  risen  from  the  dead,  appealing  to  a  testimony  as 
high  as  their  own — exclaim  with  one  voice,  "  Ye  have  Moses 
and  the  Prophets,  hear  them.  They  foretold  the  effect  which 
you  see  ;  and  they,  too,  unveiled  the  cause.  From  them  may 
ye  learn  that  the  judgments  which  a  mysterious  God  has  ex- 
ercised on  us  loere  not  spoken  in  secret  in  a  dark  place,  but  are 
as  the  light  that  goeth  forth.  Ye  may  read  them,  as  they  are 
written  in  His  word.  For  no  evil  has  come  on  us  but  what 
He  revealed  to  his  servants  the  prophets.  They  ivere  set, 
over  the  nations  and  kingdoms,  to  root  out,  and  to  pull  down, 
and  to  destroy,  and  to  throw  down — as  ye  behold  us  now — and 
— a*  shall  yet  be  seen — to  build,  and  to  plant*  By  his  proph- 
ets the  Lord  has  hewn  us  down.     His  judgments  were  ut 

*  Jer.  i.,  10. 


INSPIRATION    OF    THE   PROPHETS.  51 

tered  against  us  as  touching  our  wickedness.  His  word  has 
been  our  burden,  and  has  brought  us  to  the  dust ;  but  iniquity- 
has  been  our  ruin,  and  has  made  us  what  we  are.  The  chil- 
dren of  Jsrael  forsook  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  God  of  their 
fathers  ;  and  the  anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  this 
land  to  bring  upon  it  all  the  curses  that  are  written  in  his 
book.*  And,  because  of  the  iniquity  of  thein  that  dwell 
therein,  the  land  still  mournelh.  For  three  transgressions  of 
Judah  and  for  four — for  three  transgressions  of  Ammon, 
Moab,  Edom,  Tyrus,  Gaza,  &c.,  and  for  four — the  Lord  did 
not  take  away  the  punishment  thereof  f  They  all  multiplied 
tlieir  words,  and  blasphemies,  and  transgressions  against  the 
Lord;  and  his  word  went  forth  against  them.  In  their  pride 
they  exalted  themselves  to  heaven  ;  and  they  have  been 
brought  down  to  hell.  Babylon  the  great,  proud  as  Lucifer, 
the  son  of  the  morning,  has  been  cut  down  to  the  ground,  be- 
cause it  was  full  of  iniquity,  and  strove  against  the  Lord. 
The  Lord  hath  broken  the  staff  of  the  wicked,  and  hath  ren- 
dered unto  them  the  evil  they  had  done.  True  and  faithful 
are  his  judgments.  And  were  there  not  a  veil  upon  the 
heart  in  reading  Moses  and  the  prophets,  the  causes  of  man's 
misfortunes  lie  unveiled  and  to  his  view.  Do  men  consult 
us  that  they  may  learn  true  wisdom  ]  we  can  teach  it  by  in- 
terrogating them.  Is  not  he,  whose  word  hath  brought  us 
to  the  dust,  the  Ruler  among  the  nations  I  Who  hath  declared 
this  from  ancient  time,  and  told  if  from  that  time  1  is  not  he 
the  Lord,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  ]  Who  hath  hardened  him- 
self against  Him,  and  prospered  1  Or  who  can  resist  his 
power,  or  turn  back  his  word,  or  abide  the  destruction  that 
cometh  from  the  Almighty?  Have  not  the  things  which  the 
prophets  said  come  to  pass  1  And  did  they  not  speak  as  the 
Lord  gave  them  utterance  1  Has  not,  as  you  see,  every  des- 
olation a  token  to  show  ;  and  has  not,  as  you  hear,  every  ruin 
a  tongue  to  tell  in  '  reason's  ear'  that  the  ivord  of  prophecy  is 
sure  ?  And  do  you  not  know  that  he  who  declared  it  is  the 
Lord,  and  that  there  is  no  God  else  beside  himi  '  Names! 
for  ever  glorious  !'  do  you  call  us  1  And  do  you  not  see  that 
righteousness  and  glory  belong  unto  the  Lord,  but  unto  us 
confusion  and  shame  1  Come  and  see  how  iniquity  has  been 
our  burden ;  and  how  cities  and  countries  have  been  brought 
at  last  to  do  homage  to  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and  to  magnify 
the  word  which  the  kingdoms  and  nations  would  not  hear. 
Without  a  man  of  our  cities  to  answer,  may  we  not  tell  and 
'  teach'  you  that  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  '  wis- 
dom,' and  to  depart  from  evil  is  understanding  ;  that  sinners 
shall  be  consumed  out  of  the  earth,  and  the  wicked  be  no 
more ;  and  that,  if  the  fear  of  the  Lord  be  not  there,  the 

*  Deut.  xxix.,  25,  27.  »   Ames  i  andii. 


52  THE    APPROPRIATION    Olb 

proudest  of  the  cities  of  the  nations  shall  become  as  one  of 
us  1  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die  1  If  you  hear  not 
Moses  and  the  f)ropliets,  neither  would  you  be  pursuaded 
thougli  one  rose  from  the  dead.  According  to  their  word, 
we  wait  the  time  when  (»od  shall  turn  away  iniquity  from 
Jacob;  when,  as  judgment  now  coincides  with  judgment, 
blessing  shall  harmonize  with  blessing:  when  He  that  scat- 
tered Israel  shall  have  gathered  him,  and  his  light  shall  break 
forth  as  the  morning,  and  they  that  b^  of  him  shall  build  the 
old  wastes  and  raise  up  the  desolations  of  many  generations, 
and  he  shall  be  called  the  repairer  of  the  breach,  the  re- 
storer of  paths  to  dwell  in.*  Then  a  new  song  shall  be  put 
into  our  mouths.  The  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall 
be  glad  for  them  ;  and  the  desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as 
the  rose.  They  shall  see  the  glory  and  the  excellence  of 
the  Lord." 

The  first  portion  of  this  demonstration  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity  is  that  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Jewish  prophets. 
And  while  light  thus  breaks  forth  on  the  dark  history  of  man, 
their  words  shining  over  it  as  the  stars  fixed  in  the  firmmnent 
of  heaven  shine  into  the  darkness  of  night,  is  it  not  wise — as 
an  apostle  declares  it  to  be  well — to  take  heed  to  the  more  sure 
word  of  prophecy^  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark  place, 
until  the  day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  arise  in  your  hearts  ? 
knowing  this  first,  that  no  prophecy  of  the  Scripture  is  of 
any  private  interpretation  (that  the  event,  not  the  fancy  of 
any  man  must  interpret  it).  For  the  prophecy  came  not  in 
old  time  by  the  will  of  man ;  but  holy  men  of  God  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.f 

Keeping  in  view  the  marshalled  host  of  irrefutable  facts  to 
which  the  word  of  God  by  the  prophets  has  given  irresistible 
power,  and  which  stand  ever  ready  at  a  call,  we  have  only 
— with  the  same  weapon  from  the  armory  of  heaven,  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God — to  pass  from 
the  tent  of  one  enemy  to  the  tower  of  another,  in  order  to 
turn  it  too  into  a  stronghold  of  our  faith. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  APPROPRIATION  OF  HUMe's  ARGUMENT  AGAINST  MIRACLES,  &C. 

Falsehood  is  ever  opposed  to  Truth  ;  and  it  has  been  the 
fate  of  the  Christian  religion,  that  false  arguments  han^e  been 

*'  Isa.  Iviii.,  8, 12.  f  2  Peter  i.,  19-21. 


urged  against  it,  as  false  witnesses  were  sought  against  its 
Author. 

Recent  historical  and  geographical  researches,  which  dis- 
close many  facts  relative  to  the  revolutions  of  empires,  and  to 
the  desolation  of  cities  and  countries,  have  been  eagerly 
seized  on  by  zealous  skeptics,  in  order  that  evidence  against 
revelation  might  be  extorted  from  them ;  but,  as  we  have 
seen,  these  facts  themselves  lead  directly  to  the  very  oppo- 
site conclusion,  establishing. the  faith  which  they  were  ad- 
duced to  destroy. 

In  like  manner,  with  equal  eagerness,  though  not  less  futile 
against  the  truth,  nor  more  helpful  to  the  indefensible  cause 
of  error,  the  discoveries  of  modern  science  have  been  resort- 
ed to  in  order  to  forge  from  them  a  weapon  against  the  Chris- 
tian faith.  But  the  changeful  history  of  man,  which  marks 
the  direful  revolutions  of  empires,  and  the  modern  discov- 
eries of  physical  science,  which  prove  that  all  nature  is  the 
work  of  Him  who  changeth  not,  are  not  only  appealed  to  in 
vain  for  such  a  purpose,  but  they  unite  in  reversing  the  rash 
sentence  of  a  vain  philosophy,  which  is  quicksighted  as  to  the 
history  of  man  and  the  works  of  nature,  but  which  hath  not 
an  ear  to  hear  the  word  of  God. 

The  march  of  intellect  has  now  become  a  hackneyed  phrase. 
And  great,  truly,  has  been  the  recent  intellectual  progress  of 
man  over  the  rich  domains  of  nature.  In  the  discovery,  com- 
bination, and  classification  of  an  innumerable  multitude  of 
facts,  throughout  all  the  various  departments  of  natural  his- 
tory and  philosophy,  whether  ascertained  by  observation,  ex- 
periment, or  calculation — from  the  structures  of  animals  and 
plants,  the  relation  of  substances,  and  the  forms  of  crys- 
tals, to  the  motions  and  magnitude  of  the  earth,  of  the  moon, 
and  of  the  planets — there  is  so  clear  a  manifestation  of  the 
regularity  which  pervades  the  universe,  that  design  is  stamped 
on  every  part;  and  the  whole  order  and  course  of  nature  is 
marked  out  as  the  workmanship  of  the  same  Almighty  hand. 
There  is  a  consistent  harmony  in  all  material  things,  analo- 
gous to  the  power  of  attraction  which  links  them  together. 
And  there  is,  to  use  the  beautiful  language  of  Playfair,  a 
"  wisdom  which  presides  over  the  least  as  well  as  the  great- 
est things ;  over  the  faUing  of  a  stone  as  well  as  the  revolu- 
tion of  a  planet,  and  which  not  only  numbers  and  names  the 
stars,  but  even  the  atoms  that  compose  them." 

The  man  who  can  look  upon  the  works  of  nature  and  be 
an  atheist,  need  not  be  told  that  there  is  a  God.  If  the  first 
great  truth  be  not  "  clearly  seen  and  understood  by  the  things 
that  are  made,"  it  will  scarcely  be  learned  by  the  ear.  But 
the  m'ore  closely  that  men  look  into  the  works  of  nature, 
every  new  discovery  multiplies  the  proofs  of  Divine  wisdoir- 
E  2 


54  THE    APPROPRIATION    0# 

and  power.  And,  in  all  reason,  it  must  be  owned  that  it  is 
the  fool  who  hath  said  in  his  heart  that  there  is  no  God. 

Bm  whRe  all  things  bear  witness  of  the  omniscience  of 
the  Creator,  error  is  natural  to  man.  And  it  is  not  any  con- 
tradiction to  the  declaration  of  Scripture  relative  to  the  de- 
ceilfulness  and  wickedness  of  the  heart,  that,  from  the  very 
order  which  God  has  impressed  upon  his  works,  an  argument 
should  have  been  drawn  against  the  deception  and  belief  of 
his  word.  So  perfect  is  that  order,  that  it  is  held  to  be  abso- 
lutely unchangeable.  The  reasonableness  of  believing  a  mir- 
acle— or  the  infringement,  violation,  or  suspension  of  the 
course  of  nature — on  any  evidence  whatever,  has  been  ex- 
pressly denied  and  derided  ;  and  because  that  God's  works 
are  perfect,  assent  has  been  refused  to  all  the  evidences  of 
a  revelation  of  his  will.  But  is  it  not  the  sum  of  such  phi- 
losophy, that  because  God  has  given  laws  to  nature,  he  can- 
not give  and  accredit  as  his  own  a  law  to  man  ] 

It  might  have  savoured  more  of  genuine  wisdom,  as  well 
as  of  a  becoming  humility,  had  men  closed  their  inquiries 
into  the  works  of  creation  by  any  other  argument  than  that 
which  seems  to  assume  a  restriction  of  the  power  of  the 
Creator.  It  might  not,  perhaps,  have  been  unphilosophical 
to  think  that  the  same  Almighty  Being  who,  in  such  mani- 
fest wisdom  and  power,  had  established  the  universe  in  or- 
der and  set  on  it  his  seal,  had  still  reserved  to  himself  the 
authority  and  right  of  modifying  or  suspending,  for  a  purpose 
which  he  had  or  might  have  decreed  from  the  creation  of 
the  world,  that  order  which  he  had  impressed  upon  nature. 
Its  laws,  though  regulating  all  material  things,  and  though 
worlds  hung  upon  nothing  revolve  by  them,  are  not  laws  to 
their  Author,  of  whom  they  are  but  the  word,  and  of  whose 
power  they  are  but  a  symbol  and  a  proof.  The  plainest  prin- 
ciples of  reason  may  serve  to  confute  the  most  refined  spec- 
ulations of  a  false  philosophy,  whenever  it  becomes  their 
purpose,  alike  unhallowed  and  unwise,  to  show  that,  while 
from  an  atom  to  a  world  all  things  give  proof  of  infinite  wis- 
dom, the  observed  order  (that  men  hence  call  a  law)  of  na- 
ture, which  demonstrates  the  Almighty  power  of  God,  de- 
monstrates, also,  that  a  miracle  is  impossible,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  the  Most  High  has  left  himself  powerless  to  send 
an  accredited  message  unto  man.  It  is  not  for  unsophisticated 
and  unprejudiced  reason  to  believe  that,  amid  infinite  tokens 
of  wisdom,  the  construction  of  a  machine  whereby  man  might 
measure  the  power  of  the  Deity  was  the  ultimate  design  of 
the  Creator  in  the  formation  of  the  universe,  or  that  the 
true  lesson  to  be  learned  from  its  "  mechanism"  is  how  to 
set  a  compass  on  his  works.  Analogy,  at  least,  from  which 
alone,  perhaps,  a  just  and  plausible  conclusion  could  here  be 
drawn,  might  lead  us  rather  to  infer  that,  as  laws  have  been 


Hume's  argument.  55 

given  to  matter,  so,  in  conformity  to  its  nature,  a  law  might 
be  given,  or  a  system  established,  for  the  regulation  of  the 
mind ;  and  as  uniformity  is  everywhere  traced  in  matter,  the 
moral  world  would  not,  under  the  same  good  and  omnipotent 
sovereign,  be  for  ever  abandoned  to  lawlessness  and  sin. 
The  mechanism  of  the  universe  unfolds  not,  indeed,  the  moral 
government  of  the  Father  of  Spirits.  The  world  by  wisdom 
knew  not  God ;  though  it  might  clearly  discern  his  eternal 
power.  Yet  the  more  closely  that  a  rational  inquirer,  when 
accustomed  to  look  upon  the  operation  of  His  hands,  scans 
the  universal  arrangement  which  external  nature  presents, 
and  the  wisdom  which  it  displays,  he  might,  in  moral  discern- 
ment, the  more  vividly  see  the  want  of  a  corresponding  har- 
mony in  the  spiritual  state  of  man ;  and  not  without  reason 
might  he  deem  it  possible  that  the  law  which  has  given  its 
perfect  structure  to  the  smallest  insect  might  be  suspended 
for  a  moment,  or  irj  a  few  solitary  instances,  to  call  to  like 
order  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  and,  by  such  a  manifest  interpo- 
sition of  his  power,  to  give  an  evidence  to  man,  who  is  placed 
at  the  head  of  earthly  creatures,  that  it  is  the  will  of  Jeho- 
vah that  harmony  should  prevail  over  the  moral  as  well  as 
over  the  natural  world.  And  as  the  wisdom  of  God  is  seen 
in  every  particle  of  matter  ;  as  his  goodness  fills  the  earth, 
and  his  power  hath  lighted  up  the  heavens,  there  is  surely 
no  necessity  or  even  warrant  from  thence  to  think  that  he 
would  not— it  were  blasphemy  to  say  that  he  could  not — give 
demonstration  of  his  power  in  order  to  accredit  a  system  of 
salvation,  calculated  to  renovate  human  nature  which  sin  had 
ruined,  and  (however  introduced)  to  wipe  out  the  only  blot 
on  earth  that  has  stained  his  works,  which  lies  in  the  heart 
of  man,  whence  issues  the  wickedness  that  is  followed  by 
destruction.  The  wisdom  that  is  perfect  does  not  necessa- 
rily imply  the  exclusion  of  the  power  where  there  is  the  need 
of  healing,  any  mora  than  the  most  perfect  knowledge  of 
anatomy  would  deter  the  surgeon  from  an  operation  by  which 
the  life  of  his  patient  might  be  preserved,  for  fear  of  disturb- 
ing the  perfect  texture  of  the  skin. 

The  argument  here  alluded  to  is  so  essentially  atheistical 
and  self-contradictory,  that  its  united  impiety  and  absurdity 
could  not  escape  the  observation  of  skeptics.  "  Can  God 
work  miracles  ?  that  is  to  say,  can  he  derogate  from  the  laws 
which  he  has  established  ?"  asks  Rousseau.  '•  The  question," 
he  adds,  "  treated  seriously,  would  be  impious  if  it  were  not 
absurd." 

Well,  therefore,  might  such  an  argument  be  at  once  dis- 
carded by  every  believer  in  God.  But  being  itself  an  evi- 
dence of  scriptural  inspiration — supplying  a  calculus,  when 
rightly  applied,  most  powerful  and  complete  for  demonstra- 
ting, to  a  degree  that  imagination  could  not  have  conceived, 


56  THE    APPROPRIATION    OF 

one  great  branch  of  Christian  evidence — and  being  founded 
on  a  principle,  deducible  from  all  the  works  of  nature,  which 
is  the  very  basis  of  another  leading  evidence  of  Christianity, 
this  very  argument  of  scolfers  is  as  available  on  our  side 
as  any  fact  confirmatory  of  prophecy  can  possibly  be ;  and 
it  cannot  be  here  passed  over  without  our  showing  again  that 
they  who  would  fain  be  against  us  are  for  us.  The  Chris- 
tian, in  taking  their  spoil  from  his  enemies,  only  reclaims  his 
own:  and  the  surreptitious  spoils  o(*^  Amalek  may  without 
injustice  or  profanation  be  laid  as  a  rich  and  hallowed  incense 
on  the  altar  of  truth  ;  so  much  the  more  precious,  as  being, 
on  their  part,  neither  an  intended  nor  free-will  offering. 

Now,  as  of  old,  though  in  a  different  sense,  it  may  be 
asked,  is  Saul  also  among  the  prophets?  Some  professed 
gainsayers  have  dwelt  in  metaphysical  abstractions,  some 
have  sought  to  scale  the  heavens,  while  others  have  pried  into 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  in  search  of  a  witness  against  reve- 
lation ;  but  it  has  fared  no  better  with  t*hem  all  than  those 
who  catered  for  skepticism  amid  historical  details  and  geo- 
graphical descriptions.  Let  the  potsherds  strive  with  the 
Eotsherds  of  the  earth ;  but  wo  unto  him  that  striveth  with 
is  Maker.  Human  science,  however  excellent  in  whatever 
rightly  pertains  to  it,  can  never  triumph,  nor  be  devoted  to 
its  proper  end,  when,  as  the  word  or  device  of  fallible  man, 
it  is  set  against  the  vvrord  and  counsel  of  an  omniscient  God. 
The  cause  that  is  His,  if  his  indeed  it  be,  cannot,  like  the 
arguing  of  man  with  man  about  any  vain  thoughts  of  theirs, 
be  ultimately  left  in  such  a  conflict  to  a  doubtful  issue.  Every 
high  imagination  which  exalteth  itself  against  the  knowledge 
of  God  must  be  cast  down ;  and  all  that  the  pride  of  reason 
can  urge  must  be  answered.  The  place  at  last  for  all  the 
enemies  of  Jesus  is  beneath  his  feet ;  and  there  every  argu- 
ment, as  well  as  every  fact,  which  bears  upon  the  evidence  of 
his  faith,  must  finally  be  found  in  its  allc^tted  station.  In  seek- 
ing proof  against  the  truth,  were  man  to  search  creation 
through,  he  must  return  empty;  or  were  he,  with  that  intent, 
to  climb  the  tree  of  knowledge  to  its  height,  it  is  but  to  show 
that  he  is  naked.  But  though  one  purpose  be  not  achieved, 
another  is  accomplished ;  the  record  of  nature  confirms  that 
of  revelation;  and,  after  all  the  labours  of  the  adversary  of 
the  gospel,  the  work  which  he  has  finished  is  fitted  for  the 
Christian's  purpose,  and  the  fruit  which  he  brings  down  is  ripe 
for  the  Christian's  use. 

Whether  it  be  drawn  out  in  metaphysical  subtility  by  Hume, 
founded  on  as  a  principle  in  judicial  reasoning  by  Bentham, 
or  set  forth  as  the  result  of  rnathematical  demonstration  by 
La  Place,  there  is  one  great  argument  against  the  credibil- 
ity of  miracles,  already  referred  to,  to  which  they  all  appeal 
as  incontrovertible  ;  an  argument  which  Hume  has  styled  an 


Hume's  argument.  57 

everlasting  check  against  delusion,  and  which  alone  is  char- 
acteristic of  that  high  school  of  modern  skepticism  of  which 
these  are  the  redoubted  masters.  The  air,  the  heavens,  and 
the  earth  have  all  been  explored  for  materials  to  establish  it. 
Ail  evidence  of  revelation  has  been  discredited  ;  all  testimony 
whatever  to  the  truth  of  miracles,  in  confirmation  of  reli- 
gion, has  been  held  untenable  and  inadmissible  :  and  all  wit- 
nesses for  God  have  been  discarded  from  the  court  of  reason, 
and  are  refused  a  hearing;  because,  as  it  is  said,  the  laws  of 
nature  are  inviolable. 

But  the  academy,  though  science  has  there  concentrated 
her  labours,  is  not  destined  to  triumph  over  the  college  of 
the  apostles,  though  they  were  unskilled  in  human  lore. 

It  is  the  prerogative  of  the  Deity  to  turn  by  creative  power 
the  darkness  into  light ;  and  Divine  wisdom  shines  forth  in 
all  his  works.  But,  from  the  fatal  perversity  of  man,  the  high- 
est exercise  and  *^  largest  discourse"  of  reason  may  be  made 
to  deepen  the  moral  darkness  that  naturally  rests  upon  the 
mind,  and  to  render  it  incompetent  to  comprehend  the  light 
or  the  witness  that  is  borne  to  it.  The  main,  or,  rather,  the 
only  argument  against  the  credibility  of  miracles,  owes  its 
origin  to  the  discoveries  of  modern  science.  And,  as  these 
have  advanced,  it  has  been  urged  more  generally  and  strongly, 
till  it  has  taken  the  lead  in  every  cavil,  and  admits  not  of 
any  concession  in  behalf  of  any  conceivable  or  possible  evi- 
dence of  revelation.  And  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  trace  its 
origin  and  its  progress,  if  happily  we  may  be  enabled,  with 
every  lover  of  the  truth,  to  rejoice  over  its  obsequies.  It 
would,  indeed,  be  a  blessed  task  to  lay  a  helping  hand  to  the 
demolition  of  that  bane  of  immortal  hope  and  barrier  to  Chris- 
tian faith  which  obstructs  the  way  of  life  and  worketh  death ; 
to  rescue  the  unstable  and  unwary  from  being  the  victims  of 
the  perverted  ingenuity  of  those  who,  having  argued  them- 
selves out  of  the  use  of  reason  as  well  as  out  of  the  need  of 
salvation,  neither  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  them- 
selves, nor  suffer  others  to  enter  in. 

Ignorant  as  men  were  in  ancient  times  of  the  perfect  regu- 
larity of  the  laws  of  nature,  now  fully  ascertained  to  be  estab- 
lished throughout  the  universe,  the  great  skeptical  argument 
of  modern  times  entered  not  into  the  imaginations  of  the 
early  gainsayers.  More  candid  than  their  recent  imitators, 
they  admitted  the  truth  of  the  miracles,  but  denied  that  these 
gave  proof  that  the  doctrine  was  of  God.  Their  pagan  my- 
thology and  blind  belief  in  the  power  of  evil  spirits  perverted 
their  judgments,  and  restrained  them  from  distinguishing  be- 
tween natural  phenomena  or  false  and  supposititious  mira- 
cles, and  supernatural  events  or  actual  violations  of  the  laws 
of  nature.  All  ancient  history  is  full  of  the  blind  or  super- 
stitious credulity  which  universally  prevailed;  and  which, 


58  THE    APPROPRIATION    OF 

even  yet,  is  only  imperfectly  dissipated  from  among  men ; 
that  originates  in  ignorance  of  the  order  of  nature,  and  of  the 
unvarying  uniformity  of  her  operations.  A  few  instances 
may  be  selected. 

It  was  customary  for  the  Romans,  on  beholding  an  eclipse, 
to  make  the  loudest  possible  noise  by  striking  on  vessels  of 
brass,  and  to  hold  up  lighted  fagots  and  torches  in  the  air, 
as  if  to  rouse  and  relight  the  expiring  or  extinguished  lumi- 
nary. The  sight  of  the  same  natural  event  paralyzed  armies, 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Macedonians  on  the  invasion  of 
their  country  by  the  Romans,  and  of  the  Thebans  under  Pe- 
lopidas,  rendered  them  incapable  to  encounter  the  enemy 
or  to  quit  the  spot  on  which  they  stood.  The  inspection  of 
the  entrails  of  a  victim  could  daunt  the  heart  of  the  fiercest 
conqueror,  or  urge  on  to  immediate  battle  the  most  cautious 
general.  Soothsaying  was  a  trade.  Oracles  were  consulted 
from  every  quarter.  Auguries  were  of  old  universally  re- 
garded. And  every  peculiarity  or  inexplicable  incident,  how- 
ever insignificant,  was  accounted  an  omen.  The  spirit  of 
armies  rose  or  sunk  according  to  the  number  or  appearance 
of  birds,  and  the  direction  of  their  flight  was  interpreted  by 
soothsayers  as  signs  of  victory  or  defeat.  A  dictator,  with 
absolute  authority,  was  elected  by  the  Roman  senate  to  fix 
a  nail  in  the  door  of  a  temple,  in  order  to  stay  a  pestilence. 
A  few  unintelligible  words  on  a  scrap  of  paper  are  prized  as 
a  charm  or  antidote  from  evil  by  the  ignorant  Arab,  African, 
Indian,  of  modern  as  well  as  of  ancient  times.  And  even  in 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century  of  the  Christian  era,  when 
the  true  philosophy  of  nature  was  beginning  to  dawn,  the 
pope,  in  his  wisdom  and  infallibility,  directed  public  prayers 
to  be  offered  up  on  account  of  the  appearance  of  a  comet. 
All  history  is  full  of  illustrations  of  such  blind  and  supersti- 
tious credulity,  which  originated  in  the  general  or  universal 
ignorance  of  the  order  of  nature.  The  light  of  science  has 
dissipated  the  darkness,  in  respect  to  the  knowledge  of  mat- 
ter, in  which  men  were  previously  involved.  And  it  is  now 
held  as  a  principle,  that  "  it  is  to  the  imperfection  of  the  hu- 
man mind,  and  not  to  any  irregularity  in  the  nature  of  things, 
that  all  our  ideas  of  chance  and  probability  are  to  be  referred." 
"  The  farther  that  our  knowledge  has  extended,  the  more 
phenomena  have  been  brought  from  the  dominion  of  chance, 
and  placed  under  the  government  of  physical  causes ;  and 
the  farther  off  have  the  boundaries  of  darkness  been  carried. 
It  was,  says  M.  Laplace,  to  the  phenomena  not  supposed  to 
be  subjected  to  the  regulation  of  fixed  laws,  that  superstition 
took  hold,  for  the  purpose  of  awakening  the  fears  and  en- 
slaving the  minds  of  men.  The  dominion  of  chance  is  suf- 
fering constant  dimipulion ;  and  the  anarch  oW  may  still  com 


Hume's  argument.  59 

plain,  -as  in  Milton,  of  the  encroachments  that  are  continually 
making  on  his  empire."* 

When  the  human  mind  was  rescued  from  the  delusion  of  a 
blind  credulity,  its  proneness  to  error  became  speedily  mani- 
fest in  the  danger  which  arose  of  falling  into  the  opposite 
extreme  of  an  irrational  skepticism,  and  all  belief  in  any- 
thing supernatural  was  rejected  as  unwise.  "  The  proba- 
bility of  the  continuance  of  the  laws  of  nature,"  says  La 
Place,  "is  superior,  in  our  e^imation,  to  every  other  evi- 
dence, and  to  that  of  historical  facts  the  best  established. 
One  may  judge,  therefore,  the  weight  of  testimony  neces- 
sary to  prove  a  suspension  of  these  laws,  and  how  fallacious 
it  is  in  such  cases  to  apply  the  common  rule  of  evidence." 
"  The  first  author,  we  believe,  who  stated  fairly  the  connex- 
ion between  the  evidence  of  testimony  and  the  evidence  of 
experience,  was  Hume,  in  his  Essay  on  Miracles."! 

In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Campbell,  Hume  states  that  the  argu- 
ment first  occurred  to  him  in  arguing  with  a  Jesuit  respect- 
ing a  pretended  miracle  said  to  have  been  wrought  in  a  con- 
vent; and,  as  if  marking  its  origin  in  these  last  days,  he 
adds  that  Dr.  Campbell  would  perhaps  think  that  the  sophis- 
try of  it  savoured  of  the  place  of  its  birth.X 

It  is  then  a  fact,  that  from  the  probability  of  the  continu- 
ance of  the  laws  of  nature,  an  argument  which  now  forms 
the  characteristic  standard  of  a  host  of  unbelievers  has  been 
prominently  urged  against  the  belief  of  miracles,  and,  though 
till  recently  unthought  of,  is  the  confident  boast  of  every 
scoffer  in  these  enlightened  times,  when  the  knowledge  of 
the  laws  of  nature  can  be  founded  on  as  an  argument.  But, 
instead  of  fearing  to  meet  it,  the  Christian  may  well  claim 
it  as  wholly  on  his  side.  And  had  it  not  been  urged,  and 
even  had  not  all  the  peculiar  importance  been  attached  to  it 
which  there  has  been,  the  evidence  of  the  Christian  faith 
would  have  been  lessened  by  the  want  of  such  an  argument 
against  it.  However  much  men  may  seek  deep  to  hide  their 
counsel  from  the  Lord,  however  long  the  genius  of  infidelity 
may  defer  to  inspire  its  votaries  with  any  novel  imagina- 
tions, adapted  for  delusion  and  suited  to  the  times,  He  with 
whom  light  dwelleth  holds  them  in  derision,  and  turns  their 
scoffings  into  credentials  of  his  word.  Had  Hume  looked 
into  the  Bible — which,  it  has  been  said,  he  never  read — he 
would  have  found  that  his  vaunted  discovery,  his  everlasting 
check  against  delusion,  was  described  by  the  apostle  Peter 
seventeen  centuries  before  the  supposed  period  of  its  birth ; 
and  that,  instead  of  his  being  its  original  author,  he  could,  in 
strict  justice,  have  only  claimed  the  right  of  being  accounted 

*  Edin,  Review,  vol.  xxiii.,  p.  320,  321. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  327, 329.         %  See  Appendix  No.  iii. 


60  THE   APPROPRIATfON    OP 

the  first  of  those  scoffers  who,  arising  in  the  last  days,  were 
to  urge  it  as  an  infallible  argument  against  the  evidence  of 
the  inspiration  of  scripture,  of  which,  as  adopted  and  appro- 
priated by  them,  it  is  a  manifest  and  direct  confirmation. 
The  scriptures  are  fulfilled  in  our  hearing  by  the  very  argu- 
ment of  our  adversaries,  and  by  it  are  they  constituted  wit- 
nesses for  the  truth,  which  they  laboured  so  strenuously  to 
overthrow.  If  they  will  learn  nothing  else  from  the  word  of 
God,  they  must  own  that  thty  might  have  borrowed  their 
own  boasted  reasoning,  in  which,  on  the  completion  of  their 
philosophy,  is  concentrated  the  quintessence  of  their  wisdom 
in  respect  to  the  "  continuance  of  the  laws  of  nature ;"  for 
the  presumed  fact  on  which  all  their  reasoning  rests,  that 
all  things  continue  as  they  were  from  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion, was  never  more  distinctly  stated  by  themselves  than 
in  those  very  words  of  the  apostle  which  foretold  from  the 
first  what  at  last  they  would  say. 

An  apostle  of  Jesus  could  well  affirm,  "  We  are  not  igno- 
rant of  the  devices  of  Satan ;  and  thanks  be  to  God,  who 
always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ."  And  in  token  that 
their  triumph  should  not  fail  at  the  last,  Christians  are  en- 
joined to  be  mindful  of  the  words  which  were  spoken  before 
by  the  holy  prophets ;  knowing  this  first,  that  there  shall 
come  in  the  last  days  scoffers  walking  after  their  own  lusts, 
and  saying.  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming  ]  for,  since 
the  fathers  fell  asleep,  all  things  continue  as  they  were  from 
the  beginning  of  the  creation* 

Man,  proud  in  his  knowledge  of  nature,  will  not  look  to 
the  word  of  nature's  God  for  instruction  ;  and  yet  in  half  a 
verse  we  may  read  the  result  of  all  the  labours  of  modern 
philosophy  which  have  been  directed  against  the  credibility 
of  scriptural  miracles.  The  march  of  intellect  brings  us  in 
close  contact  with  the  truth,  instead  of  having  advanced,  as 
many  imagine,  to  the  farthest  extremity  in  an  opposite 
direction. 

"  On  this  rock,"  said  Christ  unto  Peter,  as  recorded  by  the 
evangelist,  "  will  I  build  my  church,  and  the  gates  of  hell 
shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Peter  was  the  first,  as  it  is 
related,  to  preach  the  gospel ;  and  thousands  were  converted 
in  a  day,  and  the  Christian  church  was  founded.  And  in 
these  last  days — the  last,  it  may  be  hoped,  of  the  prevalence 
of  infidelity,  or  of  the  perversion  or  suppression  of  the  reli- 
gion of  Jesus — in  which  skeptical  philosophers  have  assumed 
the  establishment  of  a  principle  subversive,  as  they  think,  of 
revelation,  their  loudest  boasting  is  but  a  distant  yet  distinct 
echo  of  the  words  of  the  same  apostle.  It  could  only  have 
been  by  inspiration  of  God  that  an  illiterate  fisherman  of 

♦  8  Peter  iii.,  2,  3, 4. 


Hume's  argument.  61 

Galilee  looked  through  the  darkness  of  many  succeeding 
generations,  and  clearly  saw  what  the  light  of  modern  sci- 
ence would  reveal.  He  whose  uncouth  speech  bewrayed 
him,  and  who  shrunk  at  the  voice  of  a  maidservant  char- 
ging him  with  being  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  at  a  time  when  his 
master  was  delivered  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  not  only 
afterward  told  under  the  name  of  an  apostle  what  the  most 
talented  enemies  of  the  gospel  could  ultimately  urge  against 
its  truth,  but  he  charges  them  as  wilfully  ignorant  of  scien- 
tific facts  ;  and  it  is  from  him  we  learn,  in  a  manner  the 
most  conclusive,  how  their  argument  may  not  only  be  abso- 
lutely refuted,  but  rendered  most  available  to  the  Christian 
cause. 

It  has  been  the  boast  of  scoffers,  that  the  labours  of  all 
the  theologians  in  Britain  have  for  the  last  fifty  years  been 
directed  in  vain  against  the  argument  of  Hume,  identified 
with  his  name  as  having  originated  with  him.  And  instead 
of  entering  on  the  various  metaphysical  and  elaborate  an- 
swers which  have  been  given  to  it,  or  attempting  to  show 
that  it  is  founded  on  a  false  hypothesis  in  regard  to  the  na- 
ture of  proof  from  testimony,  or  combating  in  any  manner 
the  plausible  hypothesis  that  testimony  cannot  prove  a  mira- 
cle, because  the  laws  of  nature  are  inviolable,  the  apostle 
instructs  us  how  with  a  word  to  reduce  the  philosophical  scof 
fers  to  silence  by  a  direct  denial  of  the  assumed  fact,  on 
which  alone  their  whole  argument  rests.  All  things  have 
not  continued  as  they  were  since  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion ;  the  order  of  nature,  as  it  now  subsists,  has  not  been 
always  inviolable.  And  changes  have  been  introduced,  great 
as  any  miracle  can  be.  It  needs  a  better  knowledge  of  the 
works  of  nature  than  unbelievers  have  avowed  or  reasoned 
from,  to  prove  the  fallacy  of  the  boldest  of  their  theories,  to 
bring  back  proud  science  to  do  its  appointed  task  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  sanctuary,  and  to  show  that  its  noblest  office  is 
that  of  being  a  faithful  handmaid  of  religion. 

Some  enemies  of  the  gospel  have  furnished  a  profusion  of 
facts,  which  demonstrate,  to  a  tittle,  the  literal  truth  of  what 
the  prophets  foretold  ;  others  have  now  said  that  which  it  is 
declared  in  scripture  that  they  would  finally  say;  and  when 
the  time  is  now  also  come  that  science  can  give  its  com- 
mentary on  these  words  of  scripture  which  confute  the  scof- 
fers, we  appeal  on  purpose  and  at  large,  in  the  first  instance, 
to  the  authority  of  one  on  whom  there  rests  not  any  suspi- 
cion of  undue  partiality  or  zeal  in  the  cause  of  religion. 
Whenever  the  zealous  defenders  of  the  faith,  enlightened  by 
wisdom  from  above,  shall  issue  from  the  Institute,  the  eman- 
cipation, moral  not  political,  shall  be  far  greater,  and  the  revo- 
lution far  more  "  glorious,"  than  any  which  France  has  yet 
seen. 

F 


62  THE    APPROPRIATION    OF 

In  answering  the  scoffers  of  the  last  days,  who,  idolizing 
reason  and  traducing  scripture,  reject  all  faith  in  anything 
supernatural,  because,  being  deeply  read  in  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, they  hold  them  inviolable,  and  account  their  continu- 
ance, in  all  ages,  sure  ;  and  who  found  their  specious  incredu- 
lity on  the  principle  that  all  things  have  continued  as  they 
were  since  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  the  scriptures  of 
tnith,  which  they  despise,  convict  thepa  of  folly,  and  thus  set 
their  wilful  ignorance  before  the  world. 

For  this  they  willingly  are  ignorant  of^  that  by  the  word  oj 
God  the  heavens  are  of  old,  and  the   earth  standing  out  of 

THE  WATER  AND  IN  THE  WATER.* 

"The  lowest  and  most  level  parts  of  the  earth  exhibit 
nothing,  even  when  penetrated  to  a  very  great  depth,  but 
horizontal  strata  or  layers  composed  of  substances  more  or 
less  varied,  and  containing  almost  all  of  them  innumerable 
marine  productions.  Similar  strata,  with  the  same  kind  of 
productions,  compose  the  lesser  hills  to  a  considerable  height. 
Sometimes  the  shells  are  so  numerous  as  to  constitute  of 
themselves  the  entire  mass  of  the  rock ;  they  rise  to  eleva- 
tions superior  to  every  part  of  the  ocean,  and  are  found  in 
places  where  no  sea  could  have  carried  them  at  the  present 
day,  under  any  circumstances ;  they  are  not  only  enveloped 
in  loose  sand,  but  are  often  enclosed  in  the  hardest  rocks. 
Every  part  of  the  earth,  every  hemisphere,  every  continent, 
every  island  of  any  extent  exhibits  the  same  phenomenon. "f 
"  It  \s  the  sea  which  has  left  them  in  the  places  where  they 
are  now  found.  But  this  sea  has  remained  for  a  certain  pe- 
riod in  those  places ;  it  has  covered  them  long  enough,  and 
with  sufficient  tranquillity  to  form  those  deposites,  so  regular, 
so  thick,  so  extensive,  and  partly  also  so  solid,  which  con- 
tain those  remains  of  aquatic  animals.  The  basin  of  the  sea 
has  therefore  undergone  one  change  at  least,  either  in  ex- 
tent or  in  situation ;  such  is  the  result  of  the  very  first  search, 
and  of  i\iemost  superficial  examination.''''% 

"  The  traces  of  revolutions  become  still  more  apparent 
and  decisive  when  we  ascend  a  little  higher,  and  approach 
nearer  to  the  foot  of  the  great  chains.  There  are  still  found 
many  beds  of  shells ;  some  of  these  are  even  thicker  and 
more  solid ;  the  shells  are  quite  as  numerous  and  as  well 
preserved,  but  they  are  no  longer  of  the  same  species.  The 
strata  which  contain  them  are  not  so  generally  horizontal ; 
they  assume  an  oblique  position,  and  are  sometimes  almost 
vertical.  While  in  the  plains  and  low  hills  it  was  necessary 
to  dig  deep  in  order  to  discover  the  succession  of  the  beds, 
we  here  discovered  it  at  once  by  their  exposed  edges,  as  we 

»2Peteriii.,  15. 

t  Cuvier's  Theory  of  the  Earth,  5th  ed.,  p.  7. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  8. 


Hume's  argument.  65 

follow  the  valleys  that  have  been  produced  by  their  disjunc- 
tion."* 

"  These  inclined  strata,  which  form  the  ridges  of  the  sec- 
ondary mountains,  do  not  rest  upon  the  horizontal  strata  of 
the  hills  which  are  situate  at  their  base,  and  which  form  the 
first  steps  in  approaching  them ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  dip  un- 
der them,  while  the  hills  in  question  rest  upon  their  declivi- 
ties. When  we  dig  through  the  horizontal  strata  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  mountains  whose  strata  are  inclined,  we  find  these 
inclined  strata  reappearing  below ;  and  even  sometimes, 
when  the  inclined  strata  are  not  too  elevated,  their  summit 
is  crowned  by  horizontal  ones.  The  inclined  strata  are 
therefore  older  than  the  horizontal  strata ;  and  as  they  must 
necessarily,  at  least  the  greatest  number  of  them,  have  been 
formed  in  a  horizontal  position,  it  is  evident  that  they  have 
been  raised,  and  that  this  change  in  their  direction  has  been 
effected  before  the  others  were  superimposed  upon  them."f 

"  Thus  the  sea,  previous  to  the  disposition  of  the  hori- 
zontal strata,  had  formed  others,  which,  by  the  operation  of 
problematical  causes,  were  broken,  raised,  and  overturned  in 
a  thousand  ways ;  and  as  several  of  these  inclined  strata 
which  it  had  formed  at  more  remote  periods  rise  higher 
than  the  horizontal  strata  which  have  succeeded  them  and 
which  surround  them,  the  causes  by  which  the  inclination 
of  these  beds  was  effected  had  also  made  them  project  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  and  formed  islands  of  them,  or  at  least 
shoals  and  inequalities;  and  this  must  have  happened, 
whether  they  had  been  raised  by  one  extremity,  or  whether 
the  depression  of  the  opposite  extremity  had  made  the  waters 
subside.  Thus  is  the  second  result  not  less  clear  nor  less 
satisfactorily  demonstrated  than  the  first,  to  every  one  who 
will  take  the  trouble  of  examining  the  monuments  on  which 
it  is  estabhshed."! 

"  All  admit  that  the  porphyry  and  trap  rocks  have  been 
pushed  up  from  below ;  but  probably  at  a  time  when  the 
whole  was  either  covered  by  the  ocean,  or  subjected  to  an 
enormous  pressure  by  means  of  incumbent  rocks,  which 
have  since  been  removed. "§ 

"  A  glance  at  the  best  geological  maps  now  constructed  of 
the  various  countries  in  the  Northern  hemisphere,  whether 
in. North  America  or  Europe,  will  satisfy  the  inquirer  that 
the  greater  part  of  the  present  land  has  been  raised  from  the 
deep^W 

"  The  primitive  fluidity  of  the  planets  is  clearly  indicated 

♦  Cuvier's  Theory  of  the  Earth,  5th  ed.,  p.  8,  9. 
t  Ibid.,  p.  9. 
X  Ibid.,  p.  10. 

ij  Edin.  Review,  No.  ciii.,  p.  72,  Oct.,  1830. 
11  Lyell's  Geology,  vol.  i.,  p.  134,  135. 
F2 


66  THE    APPROPRIATION    OF 

by  the  compression  of  their  figure,  conformably  to  the  laws 
of  the  miiiual  attraction  of  their  molecules ;  it  is  moreover 
demonstrated  by  the  regular  diminution  of  gravity,  as  we  pro- 
ceed from  the  equator  to  the  poles.  The  state  of  primitive 
fluidity  to  which  we  are  conducted  by  astronomical  phenom- 
ena is  also  apparent  from  those  which  natural  history  points 
out."* 

"  All  observers  admit  that  the  sfcrata  were  formed  beneath 
the  waters,  and  have  been  subsequently  cpnverted  into  dry 
land:'\ 

"  All  geologists  will  agree  with  Dr.  Buckland,  that  the  most 
perfect  unity  of  plan  can  be  traced  in  the  fossil  world,  the  mod- 
ifications which  it  has  undergone,  apd  that  we  can  carry  back 
our  researches  distinctly  to  times  antecedent  to  the  existence 
of  man.  We  can  prove  that  man  had  a  beginning,  and  that 
all  the  species  now  contemporary  with  man,  and  many  others 
which  preceded,  had  also  a  beginning ;  consequently,  the  pres- 
ent state  of  the  organic  world  has  not  gone  on  from  all  eter- 
nity, as  some  philosophers  have  maintained."! 

The  precise  accordance  and  identity  of  the  words  of  the 
apostle  with  these  results  of  recent  scientific  investigation, 
miust  be  obvious  to  every  reader  ;  and  it  can  scarcely  be  less 
obvious  that  that  man  must  have  spoken  by  the  inspiration 
of  God,  who,  looking  forward  from  a  remote  age  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  and  back  to  the  beginning  of  the  creation,  told  at 
once  what  scoffers  in  the  last  days  would  say,  as  clearly  as 
if  he  had  heard  them,  and  described  the  embyro  world  as 
correctly  as  if  he  had  been  an  eyewitness  of  its  rising  out  of 
the  waters. 

The  order  of  nature  was  not  the  same  as  it  is  now  when 
the  earth  was  void,  and  when  not  a  living  thing  could  possibly 
have  existed  in  the  globe  we  now  inhabit,  and  when  at  a  sub- 
sequent period  none  was  to  be  found  except  among  shelly 
strata  then  vivifying  beneath  the  waters,  now  raised  in- 
mountains  and  indurated  into  rock.  They  who  stagger  at 
the  belief  of  anything  supernatural  forget  that  there  was  a 
time,  of  which  the  structure  of  the  earth  gives  evidence, 
when  the  present  order  of  nature,  as  affecting  all  animal  and 
vegetable  being,  did  not  exist,  and  when  man,  who  unscrupu- 
lously sets  God's  word  aside  "  in  calculating  the  probability 
of  the  continuance  of  the  laws  of  nature,"  was  not  himself 
created ;  nor  any  worm  to  be  found  on  earth  to  raise  its  head 
against  its  Maker. 

In  referring  to  the  original  formation  of  the  earth  as  well 
as  to  its  final  destruction,  the  apostle,  while  exposing  the 

*  La  Place's  System  of  the  World,  Harte's  Translation,  vol.  ii.,  p.  365. 
t  Buc.kland's  Bridgwater  Treatise,  p.  44. 

i  Address  of  the  President  of  the  Geological  Society  (Lyell)  at  the  An- 
niversary, 1837     See  Philosophical  Magazine  for  May,  1837,  p.  389. 


Hume's  argument.  67 

wilful  ignorance  of  scoffers,  warns  Christians  not  to  be  igno- 
rant of  this  one  thing,  that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a 
thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day.  And  the 
fact  of  the  comparatively  recent  origin  of  man,  by  geologi- 
cal demonstration  as  well  as  by  Scriptural  record,  the  last 
of  created  Tbeings  on  earth,  is  of  itself  conclusive  against 
the  skeptic  that  all  things  have  not  continued  as  they  were 
since  the  beginning  of  the  creation.  Nature  herself,  from  the 
vaunted  absolute  uniformity  of  whose  laws  the  power  of  their 
Author  has  been  impugned,  loudly  testifies  of  the  interposi- 
tion of  Almighty  and  creative  power,  not  only  after  the 
earth  was  divided  from  the  waters,  but  even  after  the  pres- 
ent order  of  animal  existence,  man  excepted,  had  been  es- 
tablished. 

"  We  need  not,"  says  Mr.  Lyell,  "  dwell  on  the  low  anti- 
quity of  our  species,  for  it  is  not  controverted  by  any  geolo- 
gist ;  indeed,  the  real  difficulty  which  we  experience  consists 
in  tracing  back  the  signs  of  man's  existence  on  the  earth  to 
that  comparatively  modern  period  when  species,  now  his 
contemporaries,  began  to  predominate.  If  there  be  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion  respecting  the  occurrence  in  certain  deposites 
of  the  remains  of  man  and  his  works,  it  is  always  in  refer- 
ence to  strata  of  the  most  modern  order,"  &c.* 

The  conclusion  to  be  plainly  and  legitimately  adduced 
from  this  fact  alone,  as  fatal  to  the  hypothesis  of  Hume,  and 
as  directly  applied  to  subvert  it,  is,  still  more  happily,  not 
left  to  the  theologian.  For,  ready  to  our  hand  and  coming 
timely  to  our  aid,  the  following  extract,  too  precious  to  be 
curtailed,  supplies  an  illustration  of  its  conclusiveness  in  this 
respect,  from  the  same  source  from  which  the  bane  flowed, 
before  it  was,  as  now  it  is,  followed  by  the  antidote.  And 
may  not  the  Christian  hence  augur  well  and  hope  much, 
not  only  for  the  final  triumph  of  the  gospel,  of  which  he  can 
never  doubt,  but  for  the  admission,  by  such  an  opening,  of 
a  more  glorious  light  than  has  heretofore  entered  into  the 
mind  of  many  a  dark  idolater  of  mere  human  science  1  It 
must,  at  least,  be  pleasing  to  see  how,  on  the  abjuration  of 
wilful  ignorance,  the  progress  of  knowledge,  when  rightfully 
followed  out,  prepares  the  way  for  the  wisdom  that  is  from 
above  ;  or  how,  in  those  pages  wherein  the  very  predicted 
saying  of  the  scoffers  in  the  last  days  was  once  advocated, 
the  very  argument  also,  implied  in  the  words  of  the  apostle, 
has  now  been  as  unconsciously  urged  to* expose  the  utter 
faUacy  of  the  delusion. 

"  The  science  of  geology  is  very  properly  referred  to,  for 
the  striking  example  which  it  offers  of  the  successful  appli- 
cation of  the  hypothesis  of  uniform  causation  properly  un- 
derstood.    Present  phenomena  and  their  causes  have  been 

*  LyeU's  Geology,  vol.  i.,  p.  153,  154. 


68  THE    APPROPRIATION    OF 

most  skilfully  combined  and  used,  so  as  to  furnish  us  with 
the  story  of  a  period  which  has  itself  transmitted  for  our  in- 
formation nothing  but  mere  strata  and  deposites.  But  the 
late  discoveries  in  geology  lead  irresistibly  to  another  obser- 
vation. It  is  one  of  still  greater  importance  ;  for  it  seems 
to  us  to  be  FATAL  TO  THE  THEORY  [Humc's]  vvhjch  WO  havc 
presumed  to  call  a  misconception  of  the  uniformity  of  causation, 
as  signifying  an  unalterable  sequence  of  causes  and  effects. 
Those  who  have  read  neither  Cuvier  nor  Lyell  are  yet 
aware  that  the  human  race  did  not  exist  from  all  eternity. 
Certain  strata  have  been  identified  with  the  period  of  man's  first 
appearance.  We  cannot  do  better  than  quote  from  Dr.  Pritch- 
ard's  excellent  book  {Researches  into  the  Physical  History  of 
Mankind)  his  comment  and  application  of  this  fact.  'It  is 
well  known  that  all  the  strata  of  which  our  continents  are 
composed  were  once  a  part  of  the  ocean's  bed.  There  is 
no  land  in  existence  that  was  not  formed  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  sea,  or  that  has  not  risen  from  beneath  the  water.  Man- 
kind had  a  beginning ;  since  we  can  look  back  to  the  period 
■when  the  surface  on  which  they  live  began  to  exist.  We 
have  only  to  go  back  in  imagination  to  that  age  ;  to  repre- 
sent to  ourselves  that  at  a  certain  time  there  existed  no- 
thing in  this  globe  but  unformed  elements  ;  and  that  in  the 
next  period  there  had  begun  to  breathe  and  move,  in  a  par- 
ticular spot,  a  human  creature ;  and  we  shall  already  have 
admitted,  perhaps,  the  most  astonishing  miracle  recorded  in 
the  whole  compass  of  the  sacred  writings.  After  contem- 
plating this  phenomenon,  we  shall  find  no  difficulty  in  allow- 
ing that  events  which  would  now  be  so  extraordinary  that 
they  might  be  termed  almost  incredible — our  confidence  in 
the  continuance  of  the  present  order  of  things  having  been 
established  by  the  uniform  experience  of  so  many  ages — 
would  at  one  time  have  given  no  just  cause  for  wonder  or 
skepticism.  In  the  first  ages  of  the  world,  events  were  con- 
ducted by  operative  causes  of  a  different  kind  from  those 
which  are  now  in  action  ;  and  there  is  nothing  contrary  to 
common  sense  or  to  probability  in  the  supposition  that  this 
sort  of  agency  continued  to  operate  from  time  to  time,  as 
long  as  it  was  required ;  that  is,  until  the  physical  and  moral 
constitution  of  things  now  existing  was  completed,  and 
the  design  of  Providence  attained.'  (Vol.  ii.,  p.  594.)  No 
greater  changes,"  continues  the  reviewer,  "  can  be  well  ima- 
gined in  the  ordinary  sequence  of  cause  and  effect,  such  as 
constituted  the  laws  of  nature,  as  they  had  been  previously 
established,  than  took  plnce  on  the  day  when  man  was,  for 
the  first  time,  seen  among  the  creatures  of  the  earth."* 
A  plain  fact  may  sometimes  put  down  the  most  confident 

*  Edinburgh  Review,  No.  civ.,  p.  396,  397. 


Hume's  argument.  69 

boasting.  And  the  great  argument  which,  in  the  opinion  of 
its  author,  was  to  be  useful  as  long  as  the  world  endures,  is 
found,  on  examining  its  texture,  to  be  marred,  hke  the  girdle 
that  was  hidden  by  the  prophet  for  a  season,  and  as  to  its  in- 
tended use,  to  be  profitable  for  nothing.  The  seeming  strong 
tower,  when  close  contact  is  tried,  proves  of  aerial  and  in 
palpable  form,  and  the  attempt  is  vain  to  grasp  the  shadov. 
of  a  reason  where  there  is  notliing  but  the  "  baseless  fabric 
of  a  vision."  The  wonder-working  delusion,  conjured  up  by 
the  great  metaphysical  necromancer  of  modern  times,  by 
which  he  was  to  cheat  the  world  out  of  all  beUef  in  revela- 
tion, may  be  detected  and  exposed  by  any  child  who  can 
read  a  verse  of  the  New  Testament:  just  as  the  infantine 
charm  and  dread,  which  have  their  unknown  source  in  the 
magic  lantern,  are  gone  so  soon  as  the  scene  is  opened  or 
the  light  of  day  is  let  in. 

"A  miracle,"  says  Hume,  "  is  a  violation  of  the  laws  of 
nature ;  and  as  a  firm  and  unalterable  experience  has  estab- 
lished these  laws,  the  proof  against  a  miracle,  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  fact,  is  as  entire  as  any  argument  from  experi- 
ence can  possibly  be  imagined."* 

But  as  all  things  have  not  continued  as  they  were  at  the 
beginning  of  the  creation  ;  as  the  laws  of  nature  are  not  un- 
alterable, but  have  been  altered  ;  as  a  change,  since  their 
origin,  has  been  introduced,  great  as  any  change  can  be  well 
imagined,  it  is  as  clear  as  any  proof  can  possibly  be,  that 
any  argument  which  rests  entirely  on  their  presumed  abso- 
lute inviolability  is  founded  not  on  a  fact,  but  on  a  falsehood, 
and  is  therefore  necessarily  devoid  of  all  truth  as  well  as  of 
all  reason.  The  like  cause  can  never  more  indubitably  pro- 
duce the  like  effect,  than  the  recent  origin  of  man,  of  which 
the  geological  date  is  engraven  on  the  earth,  gives  demon- 
stration of  the  interposition  of  almighty  and  creative  power, 
and  of  the  operation  of  the  first  Great  Cause  ;  to  which  surely 
it  must  be  admitted  that  all  things  are  subservient  and  sub- 
ordinate. The  palpable  proof  of  the  exercise  of  this  power, 
after  the  present  terrestrial  order  began,  shows  that  experi- 
ence is  on  the  side  of  miracles,  and  that  the  same  Almighty 
Being  who  ordained  the  laws  of  nature,  and  afterward  intro- 
duced a  mighty  change,  may  possibly,  for  wise  purposes 
better  known  to  himself  than  to  man,  suspend  them  again 
It  cannot  therefore  be,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  fact,  that 
there  is  a  direct  and  full  proof  against  the  existence  of  any 
miracle ;  for,  instead  of  there  being  any  soundness  in  so  ab- 
solute a  rule,  as  scoffers  on  a  false  assumption  have  laid 
down,  the  denial  of  a  miracle,  "  perhaps  even  of  the  most 
astonishing  miracle  recorded  in  the  whole  compass  of  the 
sacred  scriptures,"  would  be  the  denial  of  an  admitted  fact. 

*  Hume's  Essay. 


70  THE    APPROPRIATION    OF 

Even  without  the  knowledge  of  this  fact,  or  wilfully  ig- 
norant of  it,  what  was  the  scornful  rejection  of  all  evidence 
of  miracles  on  such  a  principle  but  the  phrensied  attempt  to 
measure  the  power  of  Hod,  who  had  created  the  lieavena 
and  the  earth,  and  whose  goings  fortli  have  been  of  old  from 
everla^stillg,  by  the  experience  of  man,  who  stands  on  a  speck 
in  space,  and  whose  vision  can  embrace  but  a  mere  point  in 
eternity  ?  But  what  can  scoffers  any  longer  say,  when,  look- 
ing singly  to  their  favourite  hypolliesis,  the  earth  on  which 
Ihey  tread  does  tell  them  that,  were  it  true,  or  had  the  laws 
of  nature,  as  they  existed  after  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion, been  established  to  this  day  by  "  uniform  and  unaltera- 
ble experience,"  the  world  would  have  been  but  a  waste  of 
waters,  or  at  best  but  a  tenement  for  bea>>ts?  And  seeing 
that  the  Great  Creator  crowned  his  works  on  earth  by  the 
creation  of  man,  and  placed  him  in  a  world  prepared  for  his 
reception,  why  might  he  not,  for  the  salvation  of  man,  give 
proof  of  his  Divine  interposition  in  an  after  age  by  some 
changes  in  that  order  of  nature  which  for  man's  sake  he  had 
established  1  Seeing  that  the  most  astonishing  miracle  re- 
corded in  Scripture  (a  mystery  till  of  late  not  otherwise  un- 
folded) is  a  certain  fact,  it  is  not  because  of  any  infringement 
of  the  laws  of  nature  that  all  the  rest  may  not  be  proved  to 
be  true.  Seeing  that  the  order  of  nature  was  altered  by  the 
creation  of  a  new  thing  upon  the  earth,  what  could  hinder 
the  same  effecting  power  from  altering  at  any  time  the  things 
that  are  made,  or  from  giving  unto  man,  as  a  rational  being, 
some  proof  of  the  interposition  of  his  hand  ?  Surely  making 
the  deaf  to  hear,  the  lame  to  walk,  the  blind  to  see,  feeding 
of  thousands  with  a  few  loaves  and  fishes,  staying  a  tempest 
with  a  word,  raising  the  dead  to  life,  and  calling  the  buried 
from  the  tomb,  and  all  scriptural  miracles  combined,  are  no 
more  to  be  disbelieved  from  the  very  nature  of  the  facts, 
than  that,  in  the  midst  of  a  fair  and  faultless  creation,  the  hu- 
man form  was  at  first  fashioned  from  the  dust,  and  sight 
given  to  the  eye,  hearing  to  the  ear,  strength  to  the  limbs, 
life  to  the  whole  frame,  and  a  spirit  put  in  man  by  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Almighty.  The  raising  of  a  man  from  the  dead 
is  not  more  contrary  to  the  order  of  nature,  as  subsisting 
now,  than  the  creation  of  man  was  contrary  to  the  order  of 
nature  which  subsisted  then,  when  a  human  being  never  had 
been  seen.  Recalling  life  to  the  body  it  had  left  is  not  more 
marvellous  than  giving  life  to  that  which  before  had  none. 
And  as  so  great  a  miracle  was  the  origin  of  our  race,  it  be- 
comes not  mortal  man,  nor  is  it  a  right  exercise  of  his  reason, 
to  say  unto  the  Almighty,  what  dost  thou  1  nor  does  it  be- 
come the  thing  formed  to  say  to  him  that  formed  it,  there 
are  laws  which  thou  canst  not- alter.  The  resuscitation  of 
an  organized  frame  is  not  less  credible  than  the  original  for 


hume's  argument.  71 

matioii  of  the  first  animated  body.  And  since  the  latter  is 
an  admitted  fact,,  though  an  infringement  of  an  order  pre- 
viously established,  the  other  may  be  effected  by  the  same 
cause,  whatever  the  general  law  of  nature  may  be  ;  since  the 
one  is  indisputable,  the  other  is  not  impossible.  It  shows 
not,  therefore,  perfect  sanity  of  mind,  nor  is  it  a  principle 
that  will  ever  be  established  by  reason,  that'a  miracle  is  in- 
credible from  the  very  nature  of  the  fact ;  nor  is  it  in  reason, 
but  in  order  to  escape  from  its  verdict,  that  men  would  ever 
be  debarred  from  inquiring  whether  there  be  not  full  proof 
of  the  events  recorded  in  Scripture,  as  the  earth  itself  bears 
witness  to  one  of  the  most  astonishing  of  the  miracles  which 
it  records. 

The  girdle  which  the  seer  of  Israel  hid  in  the  earth  till  it 
was  profitable  for  nothing,  was  yet  a  sign  to  the  House  of 
Israel,  more  eloquent  than  the  voice  of  the  prophet,  of  which 
the  significancy  has  not  yet  passed  away.  And  the  great 
argument  which  modern  skepticism  has  discovered,  though 
marred  in  like  manner,  and  utterly  unprofitable  for  its  des- 
tined purpose,  is  reserved  for  a  higher  and  better  object,  of 
which  it  was  not  in  the  hearts  of  its  authors  and  abettors  to 
think,  and,  without  any  design  or  desire  of  theirs,  it  will  truly 
be  useful  as  long  as  the  world  lasts.  Their  scoffing,  their 
argument,  its  answer  and  its  use,  are  all  against  them ;  and 
may  well  rank  in  the  fore  front  of  Christian  evidence.  The 
scofl'ers  themselves  and  their  saying  are  not  only  visible 
and  audible  evidences  of  the  truth  of  Scripture ;  not  only 
does  the  whole  of  their  argument  rest  on  a  fiction,  but,  as 
it  is  from  the  general  and  established  regularity  of  the  course 
of  nature  that  the  absolute  inviolabilty  of  its  laws  was  un- 
warrantably assumed  or  illogically  inferred,  the  very  fact, 
which  alone  gave  all  its  plausibility  to  that  dogma  of  the 
scoffers,  by  which,  in  their  estimation,  all  belief  in  miracles 
was  to  be  for  ever  discarded  by  all  men  of  sense,  is  precisely 
the  principle  on  which  miracles  give  full  proof  to  all  who 
will  exercise  their  reason,  and  proportion,  as  wise  men, 
"  their  belief  to  the  evidence,"  that  the  doctrine,  in  confirma- 
tion of  which  they  were  wrought,  is  indeed  of  God.  The 
laws  of  nature  are  not  absolutely  inviolable.  But  nature 
assuredly  has  its  laws  or  an  order  which  has  been  impressed 
tipon  it  all ;  and  therefore  a  violation  of  that  order  is  His 
work.  And  a  miracle,  if  true,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
fact,  proves  that  the  doctrine  is  oi  God,  and  is  his  own  seal 
to  his  word. 

At  all  hazards,  and  in  avowed  rejection  of  all  evidence,  an 
inveterate  hostility,  from  first  to  last,  has  been  manifested 
against  the  holy  religion  of  Jesus.  And  in  striking  demon- 
stration of  the  deceitfulness  of  sin  in  hardening  the  heart  in 
unbelief,  the  testimony  which  God  has  given  of  his  Son  has 


72  THE    APPROPKIATION    AND    USE    OF 

been  discredited  on  allegations  diametrically  opposite  and 
mutually  subversive  of  each  other.  Skeptics,  in  these  times, 
have  scofted  at  miracles  because  of  lh«  ir  knowledge  of  the 
regularity  of  all  the  operations  of  nature;  while  from  ig- 
norance of  such  regularity  throughout  creation,  unbelievers 
in  early  ages  admitted  the  truth  of  the  miracles,  but  rejected 
the  doctrine.  The  ignorant  pagan  believed  not,  because  he 
saw  not  the  extent  of  the  laws  of  nature ;  the  SHger  philoso- 
pher does  not  believe,  because  he  recognises  the  universality 
of  these  laws,  and  holds  that  they  are  absolutely  inviolable. 
Of  the  latter  assertion  we  have  seen  the  fallacy;  and  in  the 
present  day  it  will  not  be  urged  anew  that  a  miraculous  event 
might  be  the  sport  of  an  inferior  Deity,  or  take  its  rise  from 
the  agency  of  a  demon  or  the  power  of  magic.  The  true 
knowledge  of  the  works  of  God  rescues  the  mind  that  will 
be  rescued,  both  from  an  indiscriminate  perception  of  truth 
and  error,  and  from  a  skepticism  impervious  to  reason.  In- 
stead of  every  rare  phenomenon  being  accounted  miracu- 
lous, or  of  miracles  being  held  as  wholly  incredible,  we  need 
but  to  see,  on  the  one  hand,  how  regular  laws  predominate 
over  the  world,  and,  on  the  other,  that,  however  uniform 
they  be,  they  have  been  and  may  be  altered,  in  order  to  know 
in  either  case  that  a  miracle  is  the  index  of  Divine  power. 
Instead,  therefore,  of  the  regularity  of  the  laws  of  nature 
sanctioning  an  utter  incredulity  of  miracles,  it  is  because  of 
that  very  regularity  that  these  give  evidence  of  a  commis- 
sion from  on  high.  Were  it  not  that  all  things  are  regulated 
by  fixed  and  general  laws,  and  that  a  uniform  experience,  as 
observable  by  man,  has  established  these  laws,  there  could 
be  no  violation  or  contravention  of  an  order  that  did  not 
subsist,  and  no  event  could  be  deemed  miraculous.  Were 
there  not  an  order  in  nature,  it  would  have  no  laws  to  be 
violated ;  or  were  they  to  be  suspended  daily  or  by  human 
means,  they  would  cease  to  be  laws.  It  is  because  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  stand  as  God  hath  established  them  of 
old,  that  they  clearly  show  forth  his  eternal  power  and  god- 
head. And  it  is  also  because  there  is  an  established  order 
throughout  his  works,  that  its  infringement  gives  direct  mani- 
festation of  supernatural  power.  That  which,  in  any  in- 
stance, controls  the  laws  of  nature,  is  above  them.  He  who 
hath  ordained  them  can  alone  suspend  them.  And  to  see 
that  they  have  been  violated  in  any  manner  is  to  see  that 
the  hand  of  the  Lord  has  done  it.  Perfectly  and  absolutely 
unalterable,  except  by  omnipotence  alone,  they  can  be  sus- 
pended or  changed  only  by  Him  who  ordained  them ;  who 
changed  the  once  settled  course  of  things,  and  who  may 
change  it  again  whenever  or  in  whatever  way  seemeth 
meet  to  that  infinite  wisdom  which  all  his  works  display. 
Any  alteration  of  the  se  laws,  whether  the  pov^er  which  ef- 


HUME'S    ARGUMENT.  73 

fects  it  be  immediate,  delegated,  or  permitted,  must  emanate 
from  the  Lord  alone  ;  and,  as  being  an  illustration  of  his  pow- 
er, becomes  also  a  credential  of  his  will.  It  is  thus  that 
miracles,  truly  such,  confirm  the  truth  of  Revelation.  And 
the  averment  that  there  is  universal  experience  against  the 
proof  of  a  miracle,  or  the  saying  of  scoffers  that  all  things 
have  continued  as  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  the  crea- 
tion, is  founded  on  the  fact  that  all  nature  is  regulated  by 
fixed  laws,  without  which  there  could  not  be  a  miracle,  and 
in  consequence  of  which  miracles,  being  proveable,  give  at- 
testation, for  that  identical  reason,  that  the  word  which  they 
were  wrought  to  confirm  is  the  word  of  the  living  God. 

it  is  an  easy  riddance  of  a  holy  faith  to  say  that  "  the 
Christian  religion  cannot  be  believed  by  any  reasonable  per- 
son without  a  miracle  ;"  and  that  "  the  proof  against  a  mira- 
cle is  as  entire  as  any  argument  from  experience  can  possi- 
bly be  imagined."  Such  reasoning,  when  unveiled,  shows 
an  undisguised  resolution  not  to  believe.  But  the  human 
mind,  even  in  its  delusions,  needs  some  semblance  of  reason 
on  which  to  rest,  though  void  of  all  substance,  and  incompe- 
tent to  save  as  a  "  shadow  on  the  waters." 

The  perverse  and  fatal  ingenuity  of  unreasonable  men  has 
rendered  such  a  tedious  disquisition  needful  to  show — what 
cannot  be  denied  but  on  principles  subversive  of  all  religion, 
and  tending  directly  to  atheism — that  miracles  admit  of  proof 
and  give  evidence  of  inspiration.  The  free  inquiry  of  modern 
times,  which  stifles  evidence  and  scoffs  at  proof,  has  nothing 
akin  to  the  philosophic  spirit  of  ancient  Greece,  Men  there 
were,  and  Socrates  and  Plato  were  among  them,  who  ended 
their  lives  in  the  hope  of  immortality,  and  crowned  their  la- 
bours in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge  with  the  frank  confes^'ion 
that  it  behooved  mortals  to  wait  till  that  which  reason  could 
but  darkly  know  or  faintly  discover  would  be  clearly  re- 
vealed by  some  Divine  person,  who,  for  thai  end,  should  vis- 
it the  world.  Many  wise  men  did  desire  to  see  the  things 
which  we  see  and  did  not  see  them,  and  to  hear  the  things 
which  we  hear,  but  did  not  hear  them.  They  sought  for 
some  light  in  the  midstof  darkness,  and  hoped  for  more  than 
they  could  find.  And  if  they  were  philosophers — lovers  of 
wisdom,  worthy  of  the  name  which  originated  with  them — 
who  can  pervert  or  profane  philosophy  more  than  do  those 
who,  in  the  midstof  light,  seek  for  darkness;  who,  on  a  false 
assumption,  and  vain  imagination,  and  in  wilful  ignorance, 
"  put  in  a  general  demurrer"  against  all  inquiry  and  proof,  as 
authoritative  as  any  that  ever  issued  from  the  Vatican,  and 
who  exert  all  their  mental  energy  to  disprove  the  possibility 
of  revelation  1  It  is  not  the  mantle  of  Plato  which  has  fallen 
on  them.  And  it  is  another  spirit  than  his  of  which  they 
have  a  double  portion.  The  treatment  experienced  by  the 
G 


74  THE    APPROPRUIIUN    AND    USE    OF 

gospel  from  those  of  the  sect  of  the  Epicureans  is  not  a 
novelty,  but,  on  the  rule  of  like  effects  following  like  causes, 
has  long  been  est  iblished  by  uniform  experience.  And  the 
world  has  never  been  without  a  proof  that  there  may  be  "  an 
end  of  connuon  sense,"  from  the  hatred  of  holiness  as  well  as 
from  "  the  love  of  wonder." 

The  acquisition  of  trutli  is  the  object  of  religion  as  well 
as  of  science ;  and  whatsoever  is  subversive  of  it  is  preju- 
dicial alike  to  them  both.  It  is  an  iti  omen  of  the  soundness 
of  either  to  shrink  from  the  freest  inquiry  or  the  fullest  in- 
vestigation. "  Come  and  let  us  reason  together,"  is  the  lan- 
guage of  Divine  truth.  We  will  not  listen  to  reason  nor  re- 
gard any  proof,  is  not  the  language  of  genuine  philosophy. 
They  that  are  not  of  the  day  love  the  darkness  and  hate  the 
light.  The  same  authority,  acting  on  the  same  evil  princi- 
ple, whicli  sent  Galileo  to  the  dungeon  for  asserting  that 
the  earth  revolved  round  the  sun,  exercised  a  deadlier  hatred 
to  those  who  maintained  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  rule  of 
the  Christian  faith,  and  could  point,  in  unrighteous  exultation, 
to  the  embers  around  many  a  stake ;  which  have  left  suffi- 
cient memorials  to  the  world  that  the  powers  of  darkness 
have  no  less  hatred  of  the  hghtwhiph  hath  come  down  from 
heaven,  than  of  that  which  springs  from  the  earth.  But  they 
that  are  of  the  day  come  unto  the  light.  It  leagues  not  with 
darkness;  and  knowledge  or  the  perception  of  truth  is  the 
light  of  the  mind,  before  which  ignorance  is  dispelled.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  join  in  common  cause  with  every 
lover  of  the  truth,  against  all  error  and  delusion.  In  con- 
tending for  the  faith,  he  has  to  wage  a  warfare  against  the 
enemies  of  reason  on  every  side ;  against  superstitious  cre- 
dulity, as  well  as  against  an  irrational  skepticism.  No  lie  is 
of  the  truth,  whether  it  be  a  false  metaphysical  assumption, 
like  the  theory  of  Hunie,  or  a  lying  wonder,  such  as  befits 
a  popish  legend.  It  is  the  business  of  the  true  believer  to 
repudiate  and  reprobate,  as  hateful  of  itself  and  injurious  to 
the  cause  of  truth,  as  the  experience  of  ages  has  shown, 
every  mode  of  deception  and  every  groundless  motive  of  fear. 
These,  ia  the  hands  of  impostors,  have  not  only  ovemwed  the 
human  mind,  and  debarred  it  from  rational  inquiry,  even  as 
skeptics  now  do,  but  they  have  operated  so  strongly,  so 
widely,  and  so  long  in  promoting  error  and  repressing  truth, 
as,  by  an  almost  unnatural  revulsion,  to  have  led,  whenever 
reason  was  unfettered,  to  the  disbelief  of  everything  super- 
natural, and  to  the  easy  and  fatal  transition  fmm  one  ex 
tremity  of  error  to  the  other,  or  from  superstition  to  infidel- 
ity. The  eye  that  has  long  been  deadened  in  a  dungeon,  on 
coming  to  the  light,  loses  for  a  moment  the  right  perception 
of  objects,  and  is  dazzled  by  the  brightness  beyond  its  pow- 
er of  immediate  and  distinct  discrimination ;  and  the  limbs 


Hume's  argument.  75 

into  which  manacles  have  worn  walk  not  steadily  so  soon 
as  they  are  unshackled,  and  a  rash  trial  of  their  strength  may 
cause  the  freed  man  to  stumble  at  the  first  step.  It  may  be 
thus  with  the  mind  as  with  the  body ;  and  right  reason  may 
interpose,  for  the  sake  of  safety,  that  neither  the  mental  nor 
the  natural  faculties  be  overstrained.  The  dark  ages  must, 
perhaps,  be  for  some  time  passed  away,  before  reason,  on 
the  one  hand,  maintain  its  dignity,  and  cease  to  be  abused 
by  the  love  of  wonder  and  by  idle  fears ;  and,  on  the  other, 
before  it  abandon  the  love  of  experimenting  with  false  the- 
ories, and  know  the  true  measure  of  its  power,  till  it  see  at 
last  that  the  cause  of  religion  and  of  science  is  but  one ; 
that  of  truth  unmixed  with  error,  or  the  genuine  knowledge 
of  the  word  and  works  of  the  God  of  truth. 

While  maintaining  that  miracles  are  possible,  most  readily 
do  we  admit  that  "  it  is  quite  another  question  what  ought 
to  be  the  nature  of  the  evidence  to  render  miracles  at  all 
probable  :  and  what  may  be  the  "accompanying  conditions 
necessary  to  support  a  claim  which,  by  its  very  nature,  is 
subject  to  the  greatest  difficulties,  and  on  which  the  bound- 
less fraud  and  folly  of  mankind  have  accumulated  the  great- 
est possible  quantity  of  suspicion."  Yet  the  implied  chal- 
lenge which  these  words  convey  may  be  taken  up  in  the  de- 
fence of  truth  with  unflinching  confidence. 

The  truth  of  miracles  must  be  tried  by  a  test  which  no- 
thing but  miracles  can  abide,  and  which  is  fully  competent 
to  discriminate  those  works  that  are  of  God,  and  demon- 
strate the  intervention  of  his  power,  from  those  which  are 
of  man,  whether  these  be  the  delusions  of  wilful  impostors, 
or  originate  in  the  reveries  of  misguided  zealots.  It  is  meet 
that  there  be  a  wide  and  clear  separation  and  impassable 
barrier  between  any  invention  of  an  extravagant  fancy  or 
machination  of  a  deceitful  heart,  between  all  that  the  art  of 
man,  by  any  possible  combination  or  craftiness,  could  ever 
fabricate,  the  mind  of  man  devise,  the  tongue  of  man  tell,  or 
the  hands  of  man  do,  and  the  unerring  counsel  and  holy  pur- 
poses of  an  omniscient  God,  and  the  miraculous  work  of  the 
hand  of  the  Almighty.  It  is  meet  that,  if  the  word  be  of 
God,  the  scriptural  miracles  should  stand  a  test  such  as 
none  but  God  could  have  supplied,  such  as  should  set  at  de- 
fiance all  the  fraud  of  mankind — seemingly  boundless  though 
it  be — and  mock  the  impious  pretensions  of  daring  and  de- 
ceiving mortals,  who  would  try  to  mimic  the  works  of  om- 
nipotence, and  say  that  their  word  was  the  word  of  God. 
It  is  meet  that  there  should  be  the  fullest  security  against 
the  belief  of  false  or  pretended  miracles,  and  that  what  the 
Lord,  hath  wrought  should  be  tried  by  a  test  which  they  never 
could  abide.  And  here,  as  in  all  things  else,  true  religion 
associates  with  true  reason  ;   it  is  meet  that  there  should 


76  THE    APPROPRIATION    AND    USE    OF 

be  such  a  test,  and  it  hath  seemed  meet  unto  the  Lord  to 
give  it. 

It  has  hitherto  been  our  object  to  show  that  the  prophets 
of  Israel  were  inspired,  and  that  miracles  are  proveable. 
And  nothing  more  is  needful,  in  the  first  instance,  to  be  pre- 
mised, in  order  that  it  may  farther  be  made  manifest  that, 
in  imparting  supernatural  events,  God  hath  not  left  himself 
without  a  witness  to  the  sons  of  men,  not  only  of  the  possi- 
bility, but  of  the  absolute  certainty  oTthe  truth  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  as  inevitably  deducible  from  the  plainest  exer- 
cise of  unbiased  reason. 

*"  All  prophecies ^''^  as  Hume  asserts,  ^'' are  real  miracles^  Rnd 
as  such  only  can  be  admitted  as  proofs  Of  any  revelation. 
If  it  did  not  exceed  the  capacity  of  human  nature  to^oretel 
future  events,  it  would  be  absurd  to  employ  any  prophecy  as 
an  argument  for  a  divine  mission  or  authority  from  Heav- 
en."* All  prophecies,  therefore,  which  are  visibly  true — in- 
stead of  being  "  a  subject  of  derision,"  as  our  scoffer,  true  to 
his  character,  affirmed — are,  in  his  own  words,  "  real  mira- 
cles''''— "  proofs  of  revelation  or  authority  from  Heaven." 
Prophecy  is  a  demonstration  of  Divine  knowledge  ;  as  mira- 
cles, in  the  restricted  acceptation  of  the  word,  are  a  demon- 
stration of  Divine  power.  Prophecies  being  true,  revelation 
is  established  as  a  fact ;  and  there  is  thus  full  and  decisive 
proof  of  revelation  as  there  is  also  of  a  miracle.  There  is 
experience  of  the  truth  of  both.  What  has  been  may  be 
again.  And  experience,  even  on  this  general  principle,  pre- 
pares the  way  of  the  Christian  evidence,  and  demonstrates 
that  neither  a  miracle  nor  an  exercise  of  Divine  power,  nor 
yet  revelation  nor  the  communication  of  Divine  knowledge, 
would  be  a  new  thing  upon  the  earth.  It  might  fairly  be 
argued  from  hence,  if  we  could  only  resort  to  plausibility, 
that  it  is  not  improbable  that  miracles  might  have  been 
wrought  in  confirmation  of  more  full  revelation  of  the  Divine 
will  than  prophecy  imparts. 

Prophecy,  in  a  multiplicity  of  instances,  is  a  revelation  of 
the  judgments  of  God.  But  in  those  scriptures  of  which  the 
inspiration  is  attested  by  existing  ruins,  the  name  of  God  is 
thus  proclaimed  :  "The  I.ord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and 
gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth, 
keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  trans- 
gression, and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the  guilty." 
Shadowy,  preparatory,  and  avowedly  temporaiy  as  was  the 
Mosaic  dispensation,  yet  its  record  bears  frequent  testimony 
to  the  evt  rlasting  mercy  as  well  as  to  the  perfect  holiness  of 
the  Goi  of  Israel.  God,  it  is  written,  hath  no  pleasure  in 
the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  should  repent  and 
live.     Mercy  rejoiceth  over  judgment.     And  a  more  benig- 

*  Hume's  Essay  on  Miracles. 


HUME  S    ARGUMENT.  77 

nant  but  not  less  divine  commission  was  given  to  the  proph- 
ets, than  that  of  predicting  the  punishment  of  nations  and 
the  devastation  of  kingdoms.  True  it  is  that  they  revealed 
the  greatest  desolations  that  have  come  upon  the  earth,  and 
described  with  minutest  accuracy  the  issue  of  the  unrepented 
iniquity  of  every  people,  whose  criminality  in  the  sight  of 
Heaven  they  described,  and  whose  doom  they  denounced. 
And,  our  enemies  being  witnesses,  the  once  fairest  portions 
of  the  globe  bear  the  exact  and  defined  impress,  in  a  mani- 
fold variety  of  forms,  of  every  mark  with  which  the  proph- 
ets of  Israel  stamped  their  destiny.  The  coming  to  pass  of 
the  things  which  they  foretold  shows  that  they  were  men 
by  whom  God  hath  indeed  spoken ;  and  they  are  constituted 
thus,  in  the  verdict  of  riglit  reason,  the  servants  and  the 
prophets  of  the  living  and  omniscient  God,  who  ruleth  over 
all,  and  who  executeth  judgment  and  justice  in  the  earth. 
Yet  the  brand  of  the  Divine  judgments  which  it  was  given 
unto  them  to  bear  is  but  the  badge  of  their  inspiration,  the 
seal  of  their  great  and  chief  office,  and  their  warrant  for 
bearing,  before  all  nations  and  to  all  figes,  the  testimony 
which,  by  them,  God  has  given  of  his  Son.  In  accrediting 
their  Divine  commission,  and  in  giving  ocular  demonstration 
of  the  truth  of  their  word,  every  fulfilled  prediction  thus  tes- 
tifies of  those  who  testified  of  Jesus.  The  witness  which 
they  bear  to  him  is  more  than  man  could  have  given,  and 
such  as  never  could  pertain  to  any  religious  system  of  mere 
human  origin.  At  sundry  times  and  in  divers  maimers  they 
spake  as  they  v^^ere  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  the  same 
spirit  of  truth  which  revealed  to  iheni  in  distant  ages  the 
most  momentous  facts  pertaining  to  the  history  of  the  world, 
such  as  were  then  unheard  of,  but  are  now  obvious  to  the 
sight  of  all  men,  also  made  known  to  them  the  purpose  of 
God,  and  his  promise  to  the  fathers  concerning  the  "  Mes- 
siah" and  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  foretold  by 
prophets  as  well  as  confirmed  by  miracles,  which  he  was  to 
establish  with  the  sons  of  men.  The  inspiration  of  the 
prophets  once  proved — even  as  skeptics  have  substantiated 
the  proof  beyond  denial — they  stand  forth  before  the  world 
not  only  as  having  been  the  faithful  heralds  of  judgments 
that  have  fallen  on  the  nations,  but,  now  that  the  effect  of 
every  vision  has  been  seen,  they  have  a  right  to  be  heard, 
and,  in  all  reason,  to  be  believed,  by  all  who,  seeing,  will  see, 
or  hearing,  will  hear — as  heralds  of  the  gospel  of  peace,  and 
witnesses  for  God  concerning  the  work  of  redemption — even 
as  assuredly  as  they  have  been  in  the  awards  of  his  judg- 
ments on  the  earth.  If,  indeed,  they  testify  of  Jesus,  they 
give  a  warrant  for  believing  in  his  miracles  and  in  his  word, 
which  owes  not  its  origin  to  mere  human  testimony;  and 
they  give  a  peculiar  sanction  to  that  testimony,  such  as  could 
G2 


78  THE    APPROPRIATION    AND    USE    OF 

not  have  come  from  uninspired  lips.  If  the  words  of  mar- 
tyrs need  confirmation  in  an  unbelieving  world,  it  surely 
may  be  given  by  the  voice  of  prophets.  Did  men,  who  could 
not  have  spoken  as  they  did  speak  save  only  by  the  Spirit 
of  God,  testify  of  Jesus,  then,  were  it  even  true  that  mere 
human  testimony,  if  it  stood  alone,  would  be  incapable  of 
proving  a  miracle,  such  a  task  is  not,  in  fact,  exacted  of  it ; 
it  does  not  stan  1  alone,  but,  though  Jt  were  the  highest  that 
men  could  impart,  other  testimony  more  than  human,  which 
no  sophistry  can  shake,  is  conjoined  with  it ;  testimony  in 
guaranty  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  even  that  of  the  word  of 
God  by  his  prophets,  which  must  ever  baffle  all  human  power 
to  invalidate  or  overthrow,  even  as  it  infinitely  surpassed  all 
human  ingenuity  to  have  invented  or  conceived.  Aiid  thus 
at  once  a  line  of  demarcation,  such  as  no  mortal  hand  could 
have  traced,  may  be  drawn  between  all  pretended  miracles, 
in  support  of  any  cunningly-devised  fable,  though  wrought 
with  all  deceivableness  of  unrighteousness,  and  the  works 
of  Him  who  came  to  do  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  to  finish 
his  work.  And  looking  to  the  word  of  God  by  the  prophets, 
seeing  that  he  hath  spoken  by  them,  it  may  rightly  be  asked, 
before  faith  be  yielded  to  the  testimony  of  man,  What  saith 
the  scripture  1 

That  the  prophets  did  testify  of  Jesus  is  another  and  dis- 
tinct portion  of  the  Christian  evidence,  afterward  to  be 
touched  on.  The  fact,  as  attested  both  by  heathen  and  Jew- 
ish authors,  that,  from  the  writings  of  the  ancient  priests  or 
prophets,  the  expectation  of  the  coming  of  a  great  Deliverer, 
who,  arising  from  Judea,  was  to  triumph  over  the  nations — 
was  not  only  prevalent,  but  universal  over  the  whole  East  at 
the  very  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era — 
if  it  be  not  enough  to  stagger  the  boldest  skepticism,  is 
enough  to  show  that  the  presumed  connexion  between  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  events  recorded  in 
the  New  is  not  a  mere  gratuitous  assumption,  but  demands, 
in  its  proper  place,  the  closest  attention  and  the  most  candid 
scrutiny  or  search  on  the  part  of  all  who  seek  to  found  their 
convictions  on  reason,  and  who  are  not  so  devoid  of  all  ra- 
tionality as  to  be  careless  of  disowning  the  testimony  and 
rejecting  the  counsel  of  God. 

But  the  prominent  point — admitting  not  of  debate — which 
has  here  to  be  specially  regarded,  is  that  the  miracles  of 
Christ  are  represented  as  wrought  in  confirmation  of  the 
truth  that  he  was  the  Messiah,  of  whom  all  the  prophets  had 
testified.  From  the  words  of  an  apostle  we  have  seen  the  ref- 
utation of  the  modern  argument  against  miracles,  or  the  denial 
of  the  saying  of  the  scoffers  of  the  present  age.  And  from  the 
words  of  Christ  himself,  when  he  was  questioned  concerning 
his  Messiahship,  we  learn  the  true  connexion  between  proph- 


Hume's  argument.  79 

ecy  and  miracles ;  we  see  that  the  credibility  of  the  gospel, 
in  reference  even  to  the  external  evidences,  stands  not  alone 
on  the  testimony  of  man ;  and  we  hear  his  appeal  to  reason, 
his  claim  to  be  believed,  his  own  reference  to  the  testimony 
of  the  prophets  as  well  as  to  the  miracles  which  he  wrought. 

In  direct  answer  to  the  question,  Art  thou  he  that  should 
come  1  Jesus  answered  in  the  words  of  the  prophet  Isaiah, 
and  appealed  to  his  miracles  in  confirmation  of  their  fulfilment. 

"  And  John,  calling  unto  him  two  of  his  disciples,  sent 
them  to  Jesus,  saying,  Ari  thou  he  that  should  come?  or  look 
ive  for  another  ?  And  in  the  same  hour  he  cured  many  of 
their  infirmities  and  plagues,  and  of  evil  spirits,  and  unto 
many  that  were  blind  he  gave  sight.  And  Jesus  answering, 
said  unto  them.  Go  your  way,  and  tell  John  what  things  ye 
have  seen  and  heard  ;  how  that  the  blind  see,  the  lame  walk, 
the  lepers  are  cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised,  to 
the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached.  And  blessed  is  he  whoso- 
ever shall  not  be  offended  in  me."  John  vii.,  19-23. 

Jesus,  the  author  of  the  ('hristian  faith,  is  explicitly  rep- 
resented as  directly  and  expressly  referring  to  the  testimony 
borne  to  him  by  the  prophets,  as  hence  founding  his  claim 
to  be  believed,  and  as  charging  those  with  being  inconsistent 
and  inexcusable  who  professed  to  beheve  in  the  prophets  and 
who  did  not  believe  in  him.  "If,"  says  he,  in  language  as 
unlike  to  that  of  every  impostor  as  were  all  his  words  and 
all  his  actions,  "  I  bear  witness  of  myself,  my  witness  is  not 
true.  There  is  another  that  beareth  witness  of  me  ;  and  I 
know  that  the  witness  which  he  witnesseth  of  me  is  true. 
Ye  sent  unto  John,  and  he  bare  witness  unto  the  truth.  But 
I  receive  not  testimony  from  man ;  but  these  things  I  say,  that 
ye  might  be  saved.  But  I  have  greater  witness  than  that  of 
John  :  for  the  works  that  the  Father  hath  given  me  to  finish, 
the  same  works  that  I  do  bear  witjiess  of  me,  thai  the  Father 
hath  sent  me.  And  the  Father  himself  which  hath  sent  me 
hath  borne  witness  of  me.  Ye  have  neither  heard  his  voice 
at  any  time  nor  seen  his  shape.  And  ye  have  not  his  word 
abiding  in  you  :  for  whom  he  hath  sent,  him  ye  believe  not. 
Search  the  Scriptures  ;  for  in  them  ye  think  ye  have  eternal 
life  :  and  they  are  they  which  testify  of  me.  And  ye  will  not 
come  to  me  that  ye  might  have  life.  I  receive  not  honour 
from  men.  How  can  ye  believe,  which  receive  honour  one 
of  another,  and  seek  not  the  honour  that  cometh  from  God 
only  ?  Do  not  think  that  I  will  accuse  you  to  the  Father : 
there  is  one  that  accuseth  you,  even  Moses,  in  whom  ye 
trust.  For  had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me : 
for  he  wrote  of  me.  But  if  ye  believe  not  his  writings,  how 
shall  ye  believe  my  words  V  John  v.,  31-47. 

Christ  did  not  bear  witness  of  himself;  he  did  not  receive 
testimony  from  man ;  nor  did  he  receive  honour  from  men. 


80  TUB    APPROPRIATION    AND    USE    OF 

The  truth  of  his  religion  has  primarily  to  be  established  on 
other  and  surer  principles  tlian  the  mere  isolated  testimony 
of  man.  If  men  hud  the  love  of  God  in  them,  tiiey  would  be- 
lieve in  iiim  who  cometh  from  God.  If  they  had  the  love  of 
truth,  they  would  believe  the  truth.  If  ihey  sought  for  the 
honour  that  cometh  from  God  only,  his  word  would  have  been 
its  own  witness,  and  they  would  have  believed  him  who  came 
in  his  Father's  name.  VVithout  here  claiming  faith  in  the  tes- 
timony borne  by  Scripture  concerning  the  heart  of  man — 
though  the  words  are  those  of  a  prophet  who  described  the  is- 
sue of  national  iniquities,  as  he  laid  bare  the  source  of  all  sin  in 
the  human  brea.st — it  may  not  be  altogether  irrutioiial  to  ex- 
press a  doubt  whether  the  history  of  our  race  gives  sirongdem- 
onsiration  that  the  love  of  holiness  has  there  its  seat, and  that 
moral  and  spiritual  truth,  without  any  repelling  power  from 
within,  finds  always  in  the  heart  of  man  an  open  entrance  and 
ready  reception.  Such,  at  least,  was  not  the  testimony  of  Je- 
sus, who,  it  is  said,  knew  what  was  in  man.  And  he  proffered 
not  his  faith  to  mortals,  as  Mohammed  did,  on  the  simple  alle- 
gation thai  it  was  from  God,  or  with  the  command  to  believe, 
without  any  reason  assigned,  without  any  evidence  given. 
Nor  does  he  appeal  to  the  testimony  of  man,  exclusive  of 
the  witness  of  God.  His  claim  was  that  of  being  the  Mes- 
siah, of  whom  the  Scriptures  testified;  of  whom  the  Father 
had  borne  witness  by  the  mouth  of  his  prophets,  and  who 
spake  not  of  themselves,  but  whose  voice  proclaimed,  as  the 
truth  of  their  word  hath  proved,  thus  saith  the  Lord.  It  was 
to  establish  the  truth  that  he  was  the  predicted  Messiah  that 
all  his  miracles  were  wrought.  And  his  allegation  was  not 
that  he,  but  that  Moses,  in  whom  they  trusted,  accused  the 
unbelieving  Jews  unto  the  Father;  that  faith  in  Moses  was 
identified  with  faith  in  him;  that  to  believe  in  the  prophets 
was  to  believe  in  him ;  and  that  it  was  want  of  fiiilh  in  the 
writings  of  Moses  which  had  a  disqualifying  efficacy  in  their 
disbelief  of  his  words.  And  such  and  so  close  is  the  alleged 
connexion  between  belief  in  Jesus  and  belief  in  the  prophets, 
that  it  is  recorded  that  he  said  unto  two  of  his  disciples  as 
they  communed  and  reasoned  after  his  resurrection,  "  O 
fools  and  slow  of  heart  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets  have 
spoken.  And  beginning  at  Moses  and  all  the  prophets,  he  ex- 
pounded unto  them  in  all  the  scriptures  the  things  concern- 
ing himself."* 

The  credibility  of  the  Christian  faith  avowedly  rested  from 
the  first  on  the  testimony  of  the  prophets,  conjoined  with  the 
evidence  of  the  facts.  We  read  in  the  second  chapter  of 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  that  so  soon  as  they  were  endowed 
with  power  from  on  high,  and  opened  their  mouths  to  preach 

*  Luke  xxiv.,  25,  27, 


Hume's  argument.  81 

the  gospel,  they  made  their  first  appeal  to  a  prophecy ;  and 
that  from  hence  the  theme  of  their  first  discourse  was  the 
proof  from  other  prophecies  that  that  same  Jesus  who  had 
been  crucified,  being-  dehvered  by  the  determinate  wisdom  and 
foreknowledge  of  God,  as  revealed  in  the  scriptures,  was  both 
Lord  and  Christ,  or  the  predicted  Messiah.*  And,  as  the 
record  in  the  next  chapter  bears,  no  sooner  was  their  first 
miracle  wrought  than  they  declared,  "  The  God  of  Abraham, 
and  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers,  hath  mag 
nified  his  Son  Jesus ;  and  those  things  which  God  before  had 
showed  by  the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets,  that  Christ  should 
suffer,  he  hath  so  fulfilled."!  And  it  iB  the  recorded  declara- 
tion of  Paul,  that  he  witnessed  "both  to  small  and  great, 
saying  none  other  things  than  those  which  the  prophets  and 
Moses  did  say  should  come."J 

In  entering,  then,  on  a  more  direct  inquiry  into  the  truth 
of  the  Christian  faith,  we  appeal  not  alone  to  the  testimony  of 
man,  nor  look  on  that  as  the  primary  warranty  of  our  creed. 
We  ask  not,  as  the  charter  of  a  heavenly  hope,  for  the  re- 
corded testimony  of  men  who  lived  eighteen  centuries  ago, 
in  order  to  show  from  thence  that  a  Divine  Being,  unheard  of 
before,  visited  the  earth  in  human  form,  and  taught  a  new 
doctrine,  of  the  nature  and  of  the  truth  of  which  their  record 
is  the  only  voucher;  and  wrought  miracles  in  its  confirma- 
tion, of  which  their  word  is  the  only  witness.  If  the  doc- 
trine of  such  imagined  teachers  were  farther  supposed  to  be  • 
holy,  and  if  it  be  true  that  man  is  a  sinner,  assuredly  their 
report  would  not  he  believed.  But  it  is  not  thus  that  the  cre- 
dentials of  Christianity  are  presented  to  the  world,  without 
corroborative  proof,  worthy  alike  of  all  acceptation  on  the 
part  of  man,  and  of  a  revelation  from  Heaven.  For  there  is 
a  record,  substantiated  in  every  age  by  a  higher  and  more  in- 
fallible testimony  than  that  of  man,  which  bears  on  its  fron- 
tispiece not  only  the  indelible,  but  the  bright  and  ever-bright- 
ening, stamp  of  inspiration.  And  wath  that  in  his  hand,  and 
open  to  the  view  of  all  men,  and  ni  a  language  that  none  can 
misunderstand,  every  advocate  of  the  Christian  faith  may,  in 
the  words  of  a  Jew  of  old  unto  a  Gentile,  ask  of  any  man 
who  has  ears  to  hear  or  eyes  to  see,  Believest  thou  the 
Prophets  1 

Their  hne,  it  may  well  be  said,  hath  gone  throughout  all 
the  earth,  and  their  word  to  the  world's  end.  The  world 
hath  felt  its  power,  and  every  past  convulsion  attests  its 
truth,  as  every  coming  change  must  finally  give  new  mani- 
festations of  its  unchangeableness.  And  the  proof  of  the  in- 
spiration of  the  prophets  being  thus  visibly  set  before  all 
men,  the  same  question  comes  home  as  closely  to  all  as  to 

*  Acts  ii.,  17,  23-36.         t  Ibid,  ill.,  12-18.         %  Ibid,  xxvi.,  22. 


82  THE    APPROPRIATION    AND    USE    OP 

the  Jews  on  the  first  promulgation  of  the  Christian  faith, 
Believest  thou  the  Prophets  ? 

Let  this  question  be  answered — as  the  enemies  of  the  gos- 
pel have  taught  all  to  answer  it — and  nothing  more  is  needed 
to  prove  that  the  witnesses  of  Jesus  are  entitled  to  a  hearing 
in  the  court  of  reason.  Their  testimony,  then,  bears  a  new 
and  a  different  character  from  what  any  testimony  of  man 
cjuld  otherwise  have  borne.  And  in  contending  for  the  truth 
of  the  gospel,  the  controversy  is  then  the  same  with  all  men 
in  every  nation  under  heaven,  whether  Jesus  be  the  Christ 
of  whom  the  prophets  testified.  That  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
New  Testament  to  which  the  witnesses  of  Jesus  bear  their 
testimony.  It  is  not  of  an  unknown  or  unexpected  Messiah 
that  they  speak,  but  professedly  of  Him  of  whom  all  the 
prophets  before  them  since  the  world  began  had  testified. 
This  is  the  true  light  in  which  their  testimony  has  to  be 
viewed,  the  immoveable  position  which  it  maintains. 

If  the  wisest  of  the  heathens  could  have  expressed  a  hope 
that  a  Divine  Being  would  visit  the  earth  to  enlighten  the 
spiritual  darkness  of  man,  which  they  were  wise  enough  to 
discern  and  to  feel,  was  not  the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  con- 
firmed as  such,  competent  to  show  that  such  a  Saviour  would 
appear!  And  if  it  did  bear  witness  of  Jesus  and  his  gospel, 
rs  there  not  then  the  strongest  presumptive  proof,  antece- 
dent to  human  testimony,  that  such  a  Saviolir  would  appear, 
■  and  that  such  a  religion  would  be  promulgated  in  the  world  ? 
And  even  on  the  supposed  truth  of  the  averment  of  the  first 
of  those  scoffers  in  these  latter  times — who  have  urged  the 
argument  against  miracles,  the  fallacy  of  which  may  thus  be 
delected,  and  the  use  of  which  may  thus  be  appropriated  and 
applied — that  "  it  is  experience  only  which  gives  authority  to 
human  testimony,"  does  not  the  experience  of  the  truth  of 
prophecy,  than  which  nothing  could  be  more  evidently  mi- 
raculous, give  authority  to  human  testimony,  if  otherwise 
complete  and  unimpeachable,  when  it  relates  those  things 
which  prophets  had  revealed  ]  However  incredible  it  might 
otherwise  have  been  deemed,  yet  when  it  goes  but  to  show 
how  the  testimony  of  God  concerning  Jesus  was  fulfilled,  it 
becomes  of  all  things  the  most  credible,  and,  in  the  words  of 
our  adversary,  "  no  room  is  left  for  any  contrary  supposition," 
established  as  the  truth  of  prophecy  is  by  "  a  uniform  and 
unalterable  experience." 

After  affirming  that  all  prophecies  are  real  miracles,  Hume, 
upon  the  whole,  concludes  that  "  the  Christian  religion  even 
at  this  day  cannot  be  believed  by  any  reasonable  person 
without  a  miracle.  Mere  reason  is  insufficient  to  convince 
us  of  its  veracity  :  and  whoever  is  moved  by  faith  to  assent 
to  it,  is  conscious  of  a  continued  miracle  in  his  own  person, 
which  subverts  all  the  principles  of  his  und<^rstanding,  and 


HUMES    ARGUMENT.  b3 

gives  him  a  determination  to  believe  what  is  most  contrary 
to  custom  and  experience."* 

It  is  not  a  miracle  that  those  scoffers  in  the  last  days  do  not 
"  believe  the  Christian  religion,"  whom  "  reason  is  insufficient 
to  convince  of  its  veracity !"  If  not  thus  irrationally  hard- 
ened against  conviction,  men  would  be  moved  to  assent  to  it 
by  every  evidence  of  its  truth.  But  that  man  surely  "  sub- 
verts the  principles  of  his  understanding"  who  argues  against 
facts,  of  which  he  is  willingly  ignorant.  It  is  not  without  a 
reason  of  our  faith  that  a  hundred  and  forty  prophecies — 
all  of  which,  literally  true  even  at  this  day,  are  real  miracles — 
form  the  basis  of  a  demonstration  of  its  veracity.  All  of 
these  bear  (as  previously  shown  in  the  Evidence  of  Proph- 
ecyf)  against  the  argument  of  Hume.  But  one  prophecy 
alone  from  the  New  Testament  is  not  "insufficient"  to 
transform  the  subtlest  arguer  against  the  Christian  miracles, 
and  each  sage  in  his  train — by  his  own  predicted  character 
and  argument,  even  at  this  day  or  in  the  last  days — into  "a 
continued  miracle  in  his  own  person,"  which  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  subvert  all  the  fallacies  of  a  vain  imagination,  and 
give  every  wise  man  a  determination  to  say,  My  soul,  enter 
not  thou  into  their  counsel ;  rush  not  with  a  reed  against  the 
thick  bosses  of  the  buckler  of  the  Almighty ;  for  although  there 
may,  as  thus  seen,  be  strong  delusion  to  disbeUeve  the 
Christian  religion  and  to  believe  a  lie,  there  is  demonstration 
to  believe,  as  invariably  accordant  with  experience,  in  that 
word  which  never  faileth,  and  which  is  indeed  of  everlast- 
ing use. 


CHAPTER  m. 

ON   THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY   OF    THE   OLD  TESTAMENT 
SCRIPTURES. 

On  comparing  a  portion  of  a  single  chapter  of  the  Book  of 
Daniel  with  the  various  histories  of  the  successive  kings  o^ 
Syria  and  Egypt,  Porphyry,  an  ancient  enemy  of  the  gospel, 
could  not  otherwise  escape  from  the  conclusion  that  the  rec- 
ord was  inspired,  than  by  alleging  that  it  must  have  been 
written  subsequently  to  the  events.  Unaccustomed  to  the 
precision  of  Scriptural  predictions,  and  versant  only  in  the 
ambiguous  responses  of  the  Pythian  oracle,  he  adduced  the 

*  Conclusion  of  Hume's  Essay  on  Miracles. 
+  P.  359-370, 


84  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

extreme  defiiiiteness  and  accuracy  of  the  description  as  a 
substantial  proof,  in  his  estimation,  that  it  could  only  have 
been  drawn  from  the  actual  historical  facts  which  it  so  tersely 
concentrated  and  so  truly  defined.  No  such  alternative  is 
now  left  for  the  skeptic  who  would  deny  the  inspiration  of 
the  prophets  of  Israel.  For  in  the  gradual  development  of 
prophetic  truth,  which  shows  how  all  ages  are  at  once  open 
to  the  view  of  the  Eternal,  even  as  his  eyes  behold  all  na- 
tions, there  stands  in  mere  human  view  so  long  an  interval, 
embracing  so  many  generations  of  our  race,  from  the  time 
that  the  visions  were  seen  by  the  prophets  till  each  separate 
word  has  had  its  perfect  work,  or  from  the  beginning,  when 
it  was  declared,  to  the  end  as  now  seen  by  the  naked  eye, 
that  every  such  cavil  is  at  last  silenced ;  and  it  is  alike  be- 
yond all  question,  that  no  historian  ever  wrote  with  more  ac- 
curacy than  the  prophets,  and  that  their  writings  long  prece- 
ded those  events,  which,  in  these  latter  times,  proclaim  their 
inspiration  to  the  world. 

In  entering,  then,  on  the  subject  of  the  antiquity  and  au- 
thenticity of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament,  we  have  not 
to  take  them  up  and  to  try  their  genuineness,  as  if  they  were 
records  newly  discovered  among  ruins  of  which  we  had  no 
antecedent  knowledge,  and  on  which  no  other  writing  was 
legible  than  that  which  the  hand  of  man  could  have  formed. 
But,  whatever  regord  as  to  other  things  they  may  bear,  this 
at  least  is  certain,  that  prophecy  is  ingrained  throughout  the 
whole,  and  that  they  are  the  charters  which  God  has  chosen 
as  testimonials  to  all  men  of  his  omniscience.  If  the  word 
of  those  men,  who  spoke  with  undeviating  truth  of  things 
infinitely  surpassing  all  human  foresight,  should  yet  be  found 
in  fault,  testifying  of  falsehoods  while  they  spake  of  things 
plainly  cognizable  by  their  senses  ;  and  if  the  truth  of  God 
should  thus  be  found  to  be  commingled  in  the  same  page  with 
the  lies  of  men,  it  may  of  a  verity  be  said  that  the  human  un- 
derstanding never  solved  such  a  problem  nor  disentangled 
itself  from  such  a  dilemma  as  to  account  for  the  seeming 
sanction  that  Heaven  itself  would  thus  have  given  to  a  rec- 
ord founded  on  fable  and  tarnished  with  lies.  It  is  scarcely 
the  sagest  of  creeds,  that  they  who  are  found  faithful  in 
having  written  in  a  book  what  man  of  himself  could  have 
never  known,  thereby  lose  the  credibility  attached  to  common 
witnesses,  in  testifying  that  which  they  saw  or  which  they 
did  :  or  that  their  testimony  should  sink  below  that  of  all 
other  men,  and  their  record  below  that  of  ordinary  and  falli- 
ble historians,  in  proportion  as  God  has  exalted  them  as  his 
witnesses,  and  marked  them  out,  from  among  all  that  had 
been  born  of  woman,  as  the  men  who  spake  by  inspiration 
of  his  Spirit.  Were  such  monstrous  absurdities  to  be  urged 
with  all  the  semblance  of  profound  reasoning  and  all  the 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  85 

solemnity  of  oracular  wisdom,  they  would  only  befool  the 
name  of  philosophy. 

Appealing,  on  the  other  hand,  to  the  plain  understanding 
and  unbiased  and  unbewildered  judgment  of  every  rational 
inquirer  after  truth,  may  it  not,  in  ingenuous  reason,  be  asked 
whether  the  faithfulness  of  the  prophetic  record  does  not  give 
some  warrant  for  trusting  in  the  historical  narrative,  seeing 
that  both  have  been  penned  by  the  same  hands  l  Abstract- 
edly from  all  other  considerations,  the  testimony  of  a  man 
who  relates  a  miraculous  event  may  be  held  extremely 
questionable,  and  is  only  to  be  credited  after  scrutinizing  in- 
quiry, and  on  independent  testimony  corroborative  of  its 
truth.  But  when  it  is  demonstrated  by  existing  and  undeni- 
able facts  that  men  were  inspired  of  God  to  declare  his  will 
and  foretel  his  judgments,  it  seems  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  conceive  what  other  claim  could  be  so  strong  for  putting 
faith  in  the  testimony  which  they  bear  to  events  that  are  in- 
timately connected  with  the  gradual  rise  and  development 
of  the  same  everlastmg  covenant,  ordered  in  all  things  and 
sure,  of  which  the  fulfilment  of  geographical  and  historical 
predictions  forms  but  a  testimonial  and  subsidiary  part. 

That  a  foot  should  show  that  the  statue  was  a  Hercules, 
was  an  ancient  proverb.  And  in  the  science  of  comparative 
anatomy,  such  is  the  mutual  adaptation  of  part  to  part,  the 
regularity,  order,  harmony,  and  wisdom  which  the  structure 
of  every  creature  of  God  displays,  that  the  form  and  due 
proportions  of  any  animal  may  be,  and  have  been,  discovered 
and  defined,  according  to  the  fairest  deductions  of  reason, 
from  the  fossil  remains  of  a  limb  or  even  the  portion  of  a 
single  bone.  In  like  manner,  or  much  rather,  we  may  at 
once  deduce  from  a  demonstrated  inspirati(m — the  proof  of 
the  reality  and  genuineness  of  which  has  come  into  our  hands 
and  is  open  to  our  sight — that  this  manifest  portion  of  Divine 
truth  has  also  its  relative  parts  and  its  due  proportions,  the 
existence  of  whicli  may  as  reasonably  be  inferred  from 
thence  as  that  of  a  body  from  a  limb. 

There  is  a  direct  and  immediate,  as  well  as  avowed  con- 
nexion between  the  Old  Testament  history  and  ihe  prophe- 
cies which  are  written  in  the  book  of  the  Lord.  Not  only 
were  both,  in  a  great  measure,  written  by  the  same  persons, 
and  often  intermingled  or  associated  in  the  same  page,  but 
future  things  were  drawn  and  declared  from  their  relation 
to  things  then  present,  and  prophecy  may  be  said  to  have 
sprung  up  from  the  history,  and  to  have  been  ingrafted  on  it 
as  on  a  root.  And  while  the  end  was  declared  from  the  be- 
ginning, whether  in  reference  to  the  successive  empires  of 
the  world  or  the  specific  fate  of  cities,  countries,  and  king- 
doms, the  subject  was,  in  continuation,  one  and  the  same. 
Egypt,  Judea,  Babylon,  Tyre,  Philistia,  Ammon,  Moab,  and 


86  THB    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTIl  KNTICITV 

Edoin  are  the  scenes  of  those  transactions  which  Scripture 
records ;  and  these  are  also  the  local  fields  which  prophecy 
has  marked  out  as  its  own  peculiar  province.  It  was  the 
ancient  intercourse  hetween  the  Israelites  and  the  people  of 
these  cities  and  nations  which  led  to  the  denunciations  of 
the  prophets.  They  looked,  in  supernatural  ^sion,  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end,  as  now  we  see  it ;  and  assuredly  we 
may  now  look  back  from  the  end  to  the  beginning  with 
some  presumptive  trust  in  their  word,  in  reading  their  joint 
narration  of  those  facts  from  which  their  sure  word  of  proph- 
ecy originated.  The  primary  history  recorded  by  Moses  and 
the  prophets  thus  bears  a  sanction,  if  not  a  seal,  such  as  no 
other  historian  ever  pretended  or  dared,  or,  without  braving 
the  sure  reproach  of  being  a  false  prophet,  could  have  at- 
tempted to  claim ;  and  that  sanction,  without  a  parallel,  can 
never  cease  while  the  visible  prophetic  result,  which  is 
coupled  with  the  Scriptural  narrative,  exhibits  the  strictest 
conformity  to  the  words  of  the  sacred  penmen,  and  carries 
on  from  age  to  age  that  history  which,  as  such,  Moses  and 
the  prophets  began. 

Prophecy  fulfilled  is  the  continuation  of  Scriptural  history. 
And  is  it  not  infinitely  more  likely  that  a  succession  of  men 
should  have  handed  down  the  connected  history  of  their 
own  people  and  country  from  generation  to  generation,  and 
executed  the  task  of  faithful  historians,  than  that  they  should, 
in  an  age  so  far  remote  from  their  own  times,  be  unques- 
tionably approved  as  true  prophets,  whose  words  never  de- 
viated from  the  facts  in  foretelling  those  events  that  have 
happened  in  all  intervening  ages,  and  those  also  which  are 
now  to  be  seen"?  Sober  reason,  in  such  a  case,  would  be 
slow  in  deciding  that  skepticism  savours  of  wisdom. 

Nay,  in  reference  to  the  credibility  of  the  miraculous  facts 
recorded  in  the  Old  Testament,  even  when  viewed  apart  from 
their  peculiar  evidence,  afterward  to  be  considered,  a  miracle 
of  power  is  only  set,  in  perfect  conformity,  beside  a  miracle 
of  knowledge.  The  Divine  legation  of  Moses,  for  instance, 
is  as  clearly  proved  at  this  hour,  by  actual,  visible,  and  un- 
deniable execution  of  the  judgments  which  he  denounced 
against  the  Jews  and  against  their  land,  if  they  would  not 
listen  to  the  voice  of  the  Lord  nor  obey  his  ordinances  and 
his  statutes  to  observe  and  do  them,  as  it  could  have  been 
at  the  time  by  all  the  recorded  miracles  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  by  all  the  thunderings,  and  lightnings,  and  the  flames, 
and  the  shaking  of  Sinai.  The  execution  of  the  law  shows 
the  authority  of  the  law,  and  that  the  lawgiver  had  his  com- 
mission from  on  high.  The  warnings,  the  threatenings,  and 
the  punishments  denounced  against  trangression,  which  were 
set  before  the  Israelites,  were,  as  the  event  has  proved,  the 
infallible  word  of  God ;  and  any  other  record  than  that  which 


OP  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCR  PTURES.      87 

declares  the  Divine  origin  of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  would 
be  belied  by  the  whole  prophetic  and  actual  history  of  Israel, 
and  the  fate  of  the  Jews  in  every  age  and  in  every  country 
under  heaven.  The  miracles  which  Moses  wrought  were 
but  the  counterpart  of  the  prophecies  which  he  delivered. 
The  former  were  the  work,  as  the  latter  were  the  word  of 
God ;  and  the  man  who  was  the  organ  of  communicating 
the  one,  could  as  well  be  made  the  instrument  of  executing 
the  other.  The  separate  parts  of  a  system  professedly,  and, 
in  one  respect  at  least,  demonstrably  Divine,  are  thus  only 
adapted  to  each  other.  And  instead  of  any  incongruity  to 
shock  belief,  the  fact  of  inspiration  uv  of  Divine  interposition 
being  once  admitted,  there  is — when  needful  alike  in  either 
case,  for  the  confirmation  or  execution  of  the  same  Divine 
plan,  and  for  separating  things  Divine  from  all  that  is  merely 
human — the  analogy  and  the  harmony  of  miracle  with  mira- 
cle, guarantied  by  experience,  integrated  into  one  system, 
and  confirmatory  of  the  same  word  of  God.  And,  while 
miracles  are  recorded  in  the  Old  Testament,  it  has,  at  least, 
to  be  borne  in  mind  that  prophets,  whose  words  as  such  are 
true,  were  the  historians ;  and  thus  far  their  testimony  may 
rightly  be  as  much  distinguished  from  that  of  other  men,  as 
the  events  of  which  they  testify,  in  any  case,  are  different 
from  those  which  form  the  common  history  of  our  race,  not 
of  one  peculiar  people,  and  are  recorded  by  ordinary  and  un- 
inspired historians.  They  who  assuredly  revealed  what  the 
Lord  did  say,  by  whom  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake,  and  his 
word  was  in  their  tongue,  have  a  right  to  be  heard  in  record- 
ing what  the  Lord  had  done.  And  standing  forth  thus  as  the 
accredited  witnesses  of  God,  there  is  as  little  wisdom  as  safe- 
ty in  refusing  them  a  hearing,  or  in  denying,  without  inves- 
tigation, that  their  Heaven-appointed  commission  extended 
to  the  history  which  they  wrote,  as  well  as  to  the  prophecies 
with  which  that  history  is  interwoven. 

But,  even  in  a  preliminary  view,  not  only  does  the  existing 
fulfilment  of  prophecy  reflect  back  the  light  of  Divine  truth 
upon  the  history  re-corded  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  the  peo- 
ple—bearing every  mark  of  the  prophetic  truth  of  their  scrip- 
tures ;  preserving  them  age  after  age  with  a  scrupulosity  and 
carefulness  such  as  never  was  bestowed  on  any  other  book, 
and  looks  as  if  the  very  letters  were  their  idols  ;  and  observ- 
ing, in  general,  the  ritual  of  their  laAv,  so  far  as  they  faintly 
can  in  any  other  lands  than  Judea — continue  to  this  day  the 
broken  and  scattered  remnant  of  Jacob  ;  and  while,  in  regard 
to  the  future,  they  are  still  "  the  prisoners  of  hope,"  spread 
throughout  the  world  and  numbered  by  millions,  they  are  also 
the  memorials  of  the  past,  neither  the  like  nor  any  semblance 
of  which  is  anywhere  to  be  found  as  pertaining  to  any  of  the 
greatest  kingdoms  on  earth,  which  are  but  as  things  of  yes- 
terday compared  to  the  Kingdom  of  Israel. 


88  THE  ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

A  nation  having  reached  its  zenith,  men,  in  haughty  self- 
complacency,  are  prone  to  reckon  on  the  stability  of  human 
things,  and  to  judge  both  of  the  past  and  of  the  future  by  the 
present.  But  it  would  need  only  a  little  scrutiny  to  show 
that,  while  the  hosts  of  Israel  went  forth  to  conquer,  the  bar- 
barian inhabitants  of  central  and  northern  Europe,  clad  in 
skins,  had  their  warfare  with  the  wolves ;  and  that  the  Temple 
of  Solomon  was  garnished  with  precious  stones  and  overlaid 
with  pure  gold  long  before  the  palace  of  Romulus  was  covered 
with  rushes. 

On  examining  the  authenticity  of  the  records  and  history 
of  the  Hebrew  race,  the  question  is,  did  God  deal  with  them 
in  ancient  as  in  modern  times,  even  as  he  hath  not  dealt  tvith 
any  nation  ?  or  were  they  a  people  set  apart  from  the  nations 
then  as  they  are  now  ]  The  judgments  denounced  against 
other  kingdoms  have  been  realized  in  their  destrucj^ion  or  an- 
nihilation. But  though  the  Jews  have  been  cast  away,  and 
have  not  been  numbered  among  the  nations,  they  have  not  been 
cast  off  for  ever.  And  as  we  see  them,  their  covenant  broken^ 
their  privileges  forfeited,  and  themelves  scattered  among  all  na- 
tions, bearing  their  judicial  sentence  from  age  to  age ;  and  their 
very  land,  according  to  the  same  sure  word  of  prophecy,  lying 
desolate  for  many  generations ;  may  we  not  from  hence  look 
back  to  the  time  which  preceded  their  dispersion,  ere  their  cit- 
ies were  laid  waste,  and  before  their  judgments  fell  thus  heav- 
ily upon  them,  and  when  they  were  a  people  (as  even  the  pro- 
phetic Scriptures  declare)  not  cast  off,  but  chosen  ;  a  people 
whom  the  Lord  chose  for  his  own,  and  called  himself  by  the 
name  of  the  God  of  Israel  1  and  would  it  not,  in  such  a  case, 
be  an  impeachment  alike  of  his  power  and  of  his  goodness, 
and  little  else  than  atheistical,  to  deny  that  the  mercy  of  God 
may  then  have  been  as  wonderful,  while  his  covenant  with 
them  did  stand,  as  his  declared  judgments  visibly  have  been, 
because  they  have  transgressed  the  law,  rejected  the  Mes- 
siah, and  broken  the  everlasting  covenant] 

In  the  same  page  in  which  we  read  of  the  curses  that  should 
come  upon  them  and  overtake  them,  and  be  accumulated,  be- 
cause of  multiphed  transgressions  and  impenitence,  with  sev- 
en-fold severity  age  after  age  upon  their  race,  till  they  should 
become  what  for  ages  they  have  been  ;  we  first  read  of  all  the 
blessings  that  were  promised  if  they  would  hearken  to  the 
voice  of  the  Lord,  and  how  he  would  establish  them  as  a  peo- 
ple unto  himself.  And  the  experience  of  eighteen  hundred 
years,  especially  as  confirming  unto  the  letter  the  denuncia- 
tions of  the  prophets,  may  well  pronounce  it  irrational  to 
expect  a  commonplace  history  in  that  of  Israel. 

it  must  at  least  be  universally  admitted — except  the  eyes 
of  skeptics  be  literally  closed,  and  their  ears  deaf  to  all  tes- 
timony— that  the  Jews  do  exist,  and  that  their  history,  if  gen- 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTDRES.  89 

wiie,  must,  in  some  respects,  like  themselves,  be  peculiar. 
And  with  the  facts  and  evidence  before  us  of  the  inspiration 
of  their  ancient  prophets ;  of  the  experience  and  credibility 
of  miracles ;  of  the  relative  connexion  between  those  events 
which  were  told,  now  liternlly  true,  and  those  which  are  re- 
corded in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures;  and  of  the  continued  ex- 
istence of  the  Jews,  and  the  peculiarity  in  past  and  present 
times  of  their  fate,  according  to  the  prophecies  which  of  old 
declared  it ;  the  way  being  thus  cleared  of  any  debarring 
dogmatism,  and  open  to  a  right  apprehension  of  the  true  na- 
ture of  the  subject,  we  may  come  more  closely  to  the  strict 
investigation  of  the  antiquity  and  authenticity  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament Scriptures,  and  see  whether  these  be  not  as  clearly 
and  completely  borne  out,  by  such  evidence  as  the  case  ad- 
mits of  or  requires,  even  as  the  inspiration  of  a  portion  of 
these  very  Scriptures  is  infallibly  demonstrated  by  positive, 
palpable,  and  existing  facts. 

That  the  Jews  were  for  many  ages  the  inhabitants  of  Ju- 
dea,  before  their  dispersion  by  the  Romans,  is  a  fact  uni- 
formly attested  or  acknowledged  by  history,  and  is  admitted 
as  beyond  dispute.*  All  question  respecting  the  high  an- 
tiquity of  their  Scriptures  is  as  completely  set  at  rest  by  the 
undeniable  fact  that  they  were  translated  into  Greek  more 
than  two  centuries  and  a  half  before  the  Christian  era,  during 
the  reign  and  by  the  order  of  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  king  of 

♦  The  very  lowest  date  to  which  their  acknowledged  existence  as  a  peo- 

Ele  has  ever  been  even  pretended  to  be  brought  down,  so  far  as  the  writer 
as  read  or  heard,  is  the  era  of  their  captivity  in  Babylon.  For,  in  the 
manifestation  that  no  opinion  can  be  so  absurd  as  not  to  find  some  advo- 
cate, he  once  heard  a  notorious  infidel  dogmatically  maintain  th«t  "  there 
is  no  evidence  of  the  existence  of  the  Jews  on  earth  previous  to  the  Baby- 
lonish captivity,  and  that  it  is  not  therefore  to  be  believed  by  wi^e  men." 
It  is.  perhaps,  somewhat  strange,  on  so  sage  a  supposition,  that  such  hap- 
less visitants,  lighting  on  our  inhospitable  world  from  the  clouds,  the  air, 
the  moon,  or  the  planets,  or  some  unknown  region  in  the  void  of  space, 
should  at  once,  having  had  no  previous  existence  on  earth,  have  found 
themselves  ensconced  as  captives  within  the  walls  of  Babylon.  How  or 
from  whence  they  were  taken  must  be  left  for  those  "wise  men"  to  deter- 
mine who  can  draw  theories  from  the  air,  and  have  a  right,  by  special  li- 
cense and  tried  qualifications,  to  recognise  at  a  glance  the  quondam  inmates 
of  the  moon.  But  the  humble  inquirer  after  truths  to  be  believed,  not 
doubting  of  the  existence  of  a  peop'e  previous  to  their  captivity,  in  tracing 
them  from  some  region  on  earth,  is  inclined  to  think  that  jhey  may  possibly 
have  come  from  that  very  country  to  which,  on  the  expiry  of  their  captivity, 
they  returned,  with  authority  to  repossess  it  and  to  build  their  temple,  Ju- 
dea,  their  fatherland,  called  by  their  name,  and  claimed  as  their  own,  their 
absence  from  which  they  had  long  pathetically  bewailed,  and  to  which  they 
turned,  as  their  descendants  still  do,  whenever  they  pray  unto  the  God  of 
their  fathers  ;  a  land,  it  may  be  added,  to  which  their  race  still  look,  in 
fond  hope  of  a  "  second"  and  last  return,  not  after  a  captivity  of  seventy 
years  within  the  walls  of  a  single  city,  but  after  a  dispersion  for  more  than 
seventeen  centuries  throughout  all  the  nations  of  the  earth. 
H2 


90  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

Egypt,  and  hence  became  a  public  document  in  a  national  li. 
brary — the  first  in  the  world. 

Never  was  any  book  handed  down  with  more  fidelity,  or 
preserved  with  greater  care  from  age  to  age,  than  the  Bible. 
For  the  space  of  eighteen  hundred  years,  Christians  and 
Jews,  alike  holding  it  sacred,  have  been  its  guardians.  And 
each  has  been  a  witness  against  the  possibility  of  its  having 
been  altered  or  corrupted  by  the  other.  Maintaining  in  other 
respects  a'^mntual  aversion  and  enmity  ill  becoming  the  pro- 
fessed disciples  either  of  Christ  or  of  Moses,  here  only  have 
they  been  actuated  by  one  common  sentiment,  feeling,  and 
purpose ;  and  the  monk  in  his  cell  and  the  rabbi  in  his  cave, 
when  driven  from  the  habitations  of  men,  were  occupied  in 
the  task  of  transcribing  and  comparing  the  same  Scriptures. 
The  ancient  Jews  held  it  an  "  inexpiable  sin"  to  alter  a  let- 
ter of  their  sacred  volume.  And  down  to  modern  times  the 
preservation  of  the  integrity  of  th§  text,  and  their  minute 
knowledge  of  the  letter  of  their  Scriptures,  may  be  said  to 
have  been  the  passion  and  the  pride  of  some  of  the  Jewish 
rabbis.  With  a  strictness  the  most  punctilious,  and  a  zeal 
the  most  persevering,  it  has  in  past  ages  been  a  practice 
among  the  Jews  to  number  how  often  each  Hebrew  letter 
recurred  in  each  and  in  every  book,  or  how  often  in  the  be- 
ginning, middle,  and  end  of  a  word  ;  and  every  varied  mode 
was  tried  by  which  the  fidelity  of  a  manuscript  could  be  as- 
certained.* On  the  discovery  of  the  slightest  error,  what- 
ever the  previous  labour,  the  parchment  was  committed  to 
the  flames.  A  perfect  copy  of  the  Scriptures  was  often  the 
work  of  years.  And  many  ancient  manuscripts  are  embel- 
lished with  such  an  elegance  and  nicety  as  may  cope  with 
any  other  works  that  ever  were  directly  executed  by  the 
hands  of  men. 

But  if  the  fact  that  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  have  been 
faithfully  handed  down  from  remote  ages  to  the  present  day 
stood  in  need  of  any  fuller  illustration,  that  superabundant 
demonstration  may  be  given,  till  every  surmise  against  it 
must  be  lost  in  the  conviction  of  their  genuineness.  For,  in  a 
word,  it  may  be  said  that  not  only  did  the  Septuagint  transla- 
tion alone  lay  the  Bible  open  to  the  world  above  twenty- 
one  centuries  ago,  in  the  best  and  most  perfect  language 
ever  spoken  by  man,  the  language  of  Greece,  and  known  by 
all  the  learned  in  Rome,  and  warrant  the  identity  of  the 
record  to  the  Gentiles  in  all  future  generations ;  but  the  Bi- 
ble was  also  translated  into  Chaldee,  and  commented  on  by 
Jewish  writers  before  the  Christian  era,  as  if  purposely  des- 
tined in  all  future  times  to  cut  short,  in  like  manner,  all  con- 
troversy concerning  the  sacred  text  between  Christians  and 
Jews. 

*  Allen's  Modem  Judaism, 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  91 

Scarcely,  indeed,  had  the  Jewish  Scriptures  been  com- 
pleted, when  the  Hebrew  language,  after  the  Babylonish  cap- 
tivity, ceased  to  be  the  spoken  language  of  the  Jews.  After 
the  prophets  had  left  unto  the  world  direct  and  infallible 
means  of  testing  their  inspiration  in  every  future  age,  and 
had  unfolded,  in  prophetic  vision,  the  fate  of  many  king- 
doms and  the  history  of  the  world  from  that  period  to  the 
end  of  time;  and  after  they  had  also,  as  remains  to  be  seen, 
fully  discharged  their  high  office  of  testifying  of  Jesus,  their 
testimonn  was  closed,  the  vision  and  prophecy  were  sealed 
up ;  and  a  seal  in  confirmation  to  everj'^  future  age  was  also 
put  upon  the  antiquity  of  the  record,  by  the  almost  simulta- 
neous cessation  of  the  Hebrew  as  a  living  language.  From 
the  significancy  of  its  names  and  terms,  derived  from  natural 
objects  or  qualities,  it  bears  intrinsic  marks  of  being  a  prim- 
itive language,  and  is  esteemed  as  the  most  ancient,  and,  by 
many,  the  first  in  the  world.  But,  leaving  that  matter  un- 
touched, it  is  an  unquestionable  fact  that  it  ceased  to  be  a 
language  in  common  use  on  the  closing  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment Canon,  and  was  thus  sealed  up  as  sacred — the  lan- 
guage of  their  fathers  in  all  former  generations — the  lan- 
gu;ige  in  wliich  their  laws  and  ordinances  were  conveyed — 
and  in  which  the  Scriptures,  which  the  Jewish  nation  held 
as  the  oracles  of  God,  were  written.  Whatever  traditions, 
in  other  tongues,  they  might  add  unto  their  law,  the  word 
itself  once  completed,  and  the  language  set  apart  for  it,  was 
not  to  be  touched.  The  pure  Hebrew  tongue  was  in  every 
after  age  studied  for  its  sake.  It  was  held  as  the  fixed,  un- 
challengeable law^  of  Israel ;  of  the  minutest  rites  of  which 
the  Jews,  while  a  people,  were,  as  they  often  are  to  this  day, 
punctiliously  observant.  And  as  connecting  the  evidence  of 
the  antiquity  of  the  Old  Testament  vScripiure  and  of  their 
genuineness  as  the  sacred  writings  of  the  Jews,  it  may  be  suf- 
ficient, in  so  cursory  a  sketch,  finally  to  observe,  that  on 
the  undeviating  and  universal  testimony  of  the  Jewish  na- 
tion, who,  as  a  people,  rejected  the  gospel  before  they  were 
themselves  rejected  of  God  ;  and  more  especially  on  the  tes- 
timony of  the  priests  and  scribes,  to  whom  especially  the 
custody  and  guardianship  of  the  Scriptures  were  committed, 
and  whose  office  it  was  to  read  and  to  expound  them  unto 
the  people  in  the  synagogues  or  assemblies  every  Sabbath 
day;  and  who,  moreover,  were  the.bitterest  enemies  of  the 
Christian  faith,  at  whose  instigation  Jesus  was  put  to  death, 
as  their  descendants  still  execrate  his  name,  there  stands 
the  period  of  four  hundred  years  between  the  time  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  commencement  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  fact,  established  on  incontrovertible  evidence,  that  so 
long  a  period  intervened  from  the  time  that  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  were  completed,  and  the  sun  had  gone  down  over 


92  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

the  prophets,  until  their  word  concerning  the  Messiah  began 
to  be  fulfilled,  might  alone  suffice  for  showing  that  the  Old 
Testament  dispensation,  as  preparatory  to  the  "new  cove- 
nant," of  which  it  speaks,  and  which  is  predicted  or  pre- 
figured from  its  commencement  to  its  close,  had  accomplished 
its  main  object  when  the  testimony  was  sealed,  and  when 
the  law  was  perfected  for  fulfilling  the  office  of  a  school- 
master to  bring  men  unto  Christ.  And  the  priority  to  the 
Christian  era  of  the  prophetic  redOrd  being  clear  beyond  the 
mooting  of  a  doubt,  the  inquiry,  without  any  fartl^r  pream- 
ble, would  be  open  for  free  discussion,  on  the  unchallenge- 
able testimony  of  the  prophets,  whether  Jesus,  the  author  of 
the  Christian  faith,  be,  as  he  himself  professed,  and  as  his 
disciples  preached  unto  the  world,  or  be  not,  the  Messiah, 
whose  coming  the  Jews  in  every  age  have  expected,  and  of 
whom  all  the  prophets,  whose  inspiration  is  as  indubitably 
demonstrated  as  the  high  antiquity  of  their  testimony,  had 
testified  in  preceding  ages.  And,  without  starting  to  an  ab- 
rupt or  illegitimate  conclusion,  the  Christian  evidence  might 
be  speedily  summed  up  by  turning  at  once  from  the  antiquity  of 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  to  the  authenticity  of  the  New. 
It  may  not,  however,  be  an  unprofitable  task  to  take  up 
the  controversy  for  a  moment  with  those  aliens  of  Israel  and 
adversaries  of  the  gospel  who  have  made  the  credibility  of 
the  Old  Testament  the  chief  object  of  their  attacks  ;  and  who, 
having  directed  against  it  all  the  power  of  ridicule  and  the 
formsof  philosophical  research,  have  boldly  vaunted  of  their 
triumph  against  the  law  and  the  testimony,  as  professedly 
given  by  Moses  and  the  prophets.  That  vain  boast  must  at 
least  be  greatly  moderated,  if  not  wholly  overborne  at  once, 
by  the  palpable  fact  that  its  antiquity  alone  being  admitted 
or  demonstrated,  the  Old  Testament  throughout  is  stamped 
by  heaven  and  certified  by  earth  as  the  record  of  predictions 
Divine  as  they  are  true.  Yet  even  the  momentary  semblance 
of  a  triumph,  in  respect  to  the  Scriptural  history  of  any  age, 
or  to  any  portion  of  holy  writ,  is  far  too  much  to  be  inno- 
cently or  rationally  conceded  to  the  inipugners  of  its  truth. 
And  in  testing  the  genuineness  of  the  history  contained  in 
the  Bible,  the  trial  may  be  made  whether,  after  the  severest 
scrutiny  on  the  part  of  gainsayers,  and  the  fiery  ordeal  which 
even  the  most  ancient  portion  of  scripture  has  of  late  years 
been  made  to  pass  thro.ugh,  the  Bible  does  not  come  forth 
approved  as  the  word  of  the  Most  High,  even  more  mani- 
festly, though  not  more  truly  than  before,  like  those  ser- 
vants of  the  Lord  of  whom  it  tells,  who  were  cast  bound  into 
the  midst  of  a  burning  fiery  furnace,  but  who  walked  in  the 
midst  of  the  fire  and  had  no  hurt,  and  upon  whose  bodies,  on 
their  coming  forth,  the  fire,  as  every  witness  saw,  had  no 
power,  nor  was  a  hair  of  their  head  singed,  neither  were  their 
coats  changed,  nor  had  the  smell  of  fire  passed  on  them. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT   SCRIPTURES.  93 


SECTION  I. 

Whether  history  fulfil  a  nobler  office  in  recording,  as  its 
ultimate  design,  the  deeds  of  heroes  and  the  revolutions  of 
empires,  over  which  every  enlightened  moralist  must  mourn, 
or  in  transmitting,  though  unconsciously,  from  age  to  age, 
the  testimonials  of  a  presiding  Deity,  by  the  verification  of 
his  prophetic  word,  may  be  left  to  the  decision  of  every  man 
who  truly  believes  in  the  existence  of  a  God,  without  wait- 
ing for  the  time  when  the  pride  of  all  glory  shall  be  stained, 
and  the  Lord  alone  shall  be  exalted.  'I'here  can  be  no  con- 
troversy that  it  was  only  about  the  time  when  the  Old  Tes- 
tament iiistory  was  closed,  that,  as  in  contradistinction  it  is 
termed,  profane  history,  generally  acknowledged  and  re- 
ceived as  authentic,  began.  Nehemiah,  the  last  of  the  scrip- 
tural historians  who  described  the  return  of  the  Jews  from 
the  Babylonish  captivity,  was  contemporary  with  Herodotus, 
the  reputed  father  of  history.  From  that  period,  when  the 
one  class  of  historians  succeeded  to  the  other,  and  when 
facts,  in  merely  human  records,  began  to  be  divested  of  fable 
with  which  they  had  previously  been  darkened  and  disfigured, 
we  have  to  look  downward  with  the  light  of  prophecy  on 
the  successive  changes  influential  on  the  fate  of  the  world, 
till  the  final  unseahng  of  the  vision  and  the  consummation  of 
all  things;  and  from  the  same  period,  as  if  raised  upon  an 
eminence  from  which  the  whole  history  of  our  race  may  be 
both  prospectively  and  retrospectively  seen,  we  can  look 
back,  guided  by  the  clear  light  of  scripture  history  amid  all 
the  profound  darkness  around,  till,  by  a  continuous  and  un- 
broken line,  the  eye  of  shortlived  mortals  can  reach  to  cre- 
ation itself  revealed  to  our  view ;  so  that  from  thence  it  may 
be  manif  St  that  "God's  word  is  perfect,"  as  engrossing  in 
itself  the  history  of  the  world,  as  well  as  in  proffering  salva- 
tion to  man,  and  in  placing  before  him  an  eternal  state. 

In  reference  to  the  most  ancient  portion  of  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures,  it  whs  alleged  by  Hume  that  the  Pentateu(jh,  or 
the  five  books  of  Moses,  has  to  be  considered  as  "  the  pro- 
duction of  a  mere  human  writer  and  historian  ;  a  book  pre- 
sented to  us  by  a  barbarous  and  ignorant  people,  written  in 
an  age  when  they  were  still  more  barbarous,  and,  in  all  prob- 
ability, long  after  the  facts  which  it  relates,  corroborated  by 
no  concurring  testimony,  and  resembling  those  fabulous  ac- 
counts which  every  nation  gives  of  its  origin."*  A  mere 
human  (or  uninspired)  writer  never  foretold  events,  before 

*  Hume's  Essays,  vol.  ii.,  p.  137. 


94  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

unparalleled,  and  whicli  have  proved  literally  true  after  the 
lapse  of  three  thousand  years.  The  more  barbarous  and 
ignorant  that  the  Israelites  were,  it  becomes  the  more  incon- 
ceivable that  such  a  production  as  the  Bible  could  have  ow^ed 
its  origin,  as  a  mere  human  composition,  to  such  a  people 
or  to  such  an  age.  The  earliest  of  the  facts  vv^hich  it  records 
avowedly  preceded  the  days  of  Moses  2500  years,  as  others 
were  anticipated  for  a  longer  period.  And  if  the  facts  which 
he  records  concerning  the  origiir  of  nations  not  only  re- 
semble the  accounts  given  by  every  nation,  but  entirely  con- 
cur with  them,  then,  instead  of  none,  they  are  corroborated 
by  the  concurring  testimony  of  all  nations. 

In  very  truth,  the  writings  of  Moses  stand  alone,  without 
any  other  record  to  cope  or  to  compare  with  them.  From 
among  all  the  books  in  the  world,  not  one  is  to  be  found  that 
comes  within  reach  of  them  in  point  of  antiquity ;  and  all 
those  of  a  later  date  which  have  any  reference  to  those  pri- 
meval ages,  come  as  far  short  of  the  definiteness,  coherence, 
and  precision  of  the  Mosaic  record.  The  Bible,  without  a 
competitor  and  without  a  rival,  may  well  be  said  to  contain 
the  only  history  of  our  race ;  the  origin  of  which  would, 
without  it,  be  involved  in  impenetrable  oblivion.  And  while 
some  ])resumptive  evidence,  on  behalf  of  the  authenticity  of 
the  Pentateuch,  may  be  deduced  from  the  averment  of  an 
adversary,  they  who  are  as  prone  to  cavil  at  the  lack  of  tes- 
timony in  corroboration  of  the  Old  Testament  as  to  disavow 
the  authority  of  any  and  of  all  testimony  in  confirmation  of 
the  New,  may  find  that  there  is  evidence  corroborative  of 
facts  related  by  Moses  far  more  conclusive  than  any  con- 
curring testimony  alone,  handed  down  by  tradition  or  unin- 
spired writings,  could  possibly  have  supplied.  The  "  book 
of  the  Lord"  needs  not  the  voucher  of  a  book  by  man. 

Although  no  contemporary  record  is  to  be  found,  Hume 
might  have  learned  from  Grotius,  and  others  who  preceded 
him,  that  concurring  testimony  to  many  facts  recorded  by 
Moses  would  not,  if  sought,  have  been  searched  for  in  vain.* 
The  genuineness  of  the  Pentateuch  was  acknowledged  by 
Porphyry  and  by  Julian,  and  the  denial  of  it  was  left  to  the 
boldeP  and  less  scrupulous  objectors  of  modern  times,  who 
have  thus  called  forth  on  its  behalf  a  higher  vindication  than 
the  lestiitiony  which  was  borne  to  it  by  the  early  enemies 
of  the  gospel. 

The  history  of  the  Jews  was  scarcely  a  theme  which,  ex- 
cept by  an  occasional  passing  glance  or  allusion,  lay  within 
the  scope  or  province  of  the  I^atin  writers,  till  Tacitus  re- 
corded their  war  with  the  Romans  and  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem     And  it  is  not  from  Greece  that  Christians  would 

»  See  extract  from  Grotius  in  the  Appendix. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  95 

ask  for,  or  skeptics  admit  of,  testimony  fully  corroborative 
of  facts  then  ancient.  Grecian  authors  could  practise  to 
perfection  the  art  of  moulding  a  tale  to  the  Athenian  ear 
with  all  the  polish  and  precision  with  which  Phidias  could 
set  before  the  eye  the  image  of  a  heathen  god.  But  neither 
was  historical  or  antiquarian  research  a  passion  with  the 
Greeks,  nor  was  the  simplicity  of  truth  a  virtue.  That  was 
often  freely  sacrificed  in  the  worship  of  the  graces.  And 
all  that  can  reasonably  be  extracted  from  them  is  the  infer- 
ence of  the  fact  from  the  fiction  which  they  had  raised  on  it 
as  the  foundation.  Though  intermediate,  in  time  as  in  place, 
between  the  Hebrews  and  Romans,  their  communication 
with  the  former  was  not  general  or  direct  till  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  :  and  it  was  only  by 
tidings  of  ancient  events  transacted  in  a  foreign  land  that 
their  historians  could  have  become  versant  with  the  Israeli- 
tish  history,  or  with  the  origin  and  rise  of  the  Hebrew  race. 
And  it  is  not  to  the  historians  of  Greece  that  we  have  directly 
to  look  for  corroborative  records  of  a  people  whose  inter- 
course and  warfare  were  limited  to  the  surrounding  nations, 
who  spoke  a  language  to  them  unknown,  and  who  denied 
the  existence  of  the  gods  whom  they  adored. 

The  more  ancient  kingdoms  of  Egypt,  Phoenicia,  and  Chal- 
dea  came  into  more  direct  and  immediate  contact  with  the 
kingdom  of  Israel;  and  their  archives  may  supply  more 
abundant  and  less  exceptionable  illustrations  of  the  truth  of 
that  book  which  alone  contains  a  continuous  history  of  the 
world.  And  the  first  of  these  kingdoms  which  held  Israel  in 
bondage  supplies,  as  if  in  expiation,  less  perishable  memo- 
rials of  the  fact  than  the  papyrus  of  the  Nile,  which  afford 
not  only  a  concurring,  but  even  contemporary  testimony. 

But  the  scriptures  of  truth,  professing  to  be  the  word  of 
the  living  God,  and  courting  all  scrutiny  while  fearing  none, 
stoop  not  to  claim  the  feeble  and  imperfect  testimony  of  one 
or  two  witnesses,  or  of  one  or  two  nations,  as  the  exclusive 
vouchers  of  their  veracity.  But  since  they  have  been  im- 
peached with  falsehood  by  scoffers  in  the  last  times  and 
modern  ingenuity  has  adduced  arguments  against  them  un- 
heard of  before,  the  God  of  truth  has  so  ordered  it  that  the 
appeal  on  their  behalf  may  now  be  made  to  authorities  and 
credentials  formerly  unknown  :  and  they  can  call  for  wit- 
nesses to  bear  "  concurring  testimony,"  from  the  one  ex- 
tremity of  the  globe  to  the  other;  they  can  summon  them 
out  of  the  ancient  temples  of  idolatrous  Egypt,  as  if  a  dead 
language  had  come  to  life  again,  and  had  found  at  their  call 
a  responsive  voice ;  they  can  appeal  to  the  most  recent  dis- 
coveries to  attest  the  most  ancient  facts  which  they  record, 
and  bid  the  heavens  and  the  earth  at  last  bear  witness  to 
truths  which  they  alone  have  hitherto  revealed. 


96  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

Whenever  simple  facts  dissipate  vain  imaginations,  there 
is  a  dazzHng  brightness  around  every  portion  of  the  Chris- 
tian evidence,  the  light  of  which,  from  the  very  multiplicity 
of  the  rays,  it  is  difficult  to  concentrate.  Here,  as  else- 
where, the  labour  lies,  not  in  seeking  and  finding,  but  in  se- 
lecting and  condensing  the  evidence,  which,  like  that  of  the 
fulfilment  of  prophecy,  is  still  accumulating.  Yet,  even  in 
the  sm;dl  space  to  which,  in  a  brief  and  summary  view,  the 
condensation  of  the  authenticity  of  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures must  necessarily  be  limited,  it  may  be  easy  to  show 
how  triumphant  is  the  refutation  of  the  charge,  that  the  Pen- 
tateuch is  corroborated  by  no  concurring  testimony. 

The  knowledge  of  any  remarkable  event,  calculated  to 
excite  the  wonder  or  amuse  the  fancy  of  a  people  eager  af- 
ter novelties,  may  have  passed  from  Judea,  the  scene  of 
their  transaction,  into  Greece ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  as- 
sumption of  other  names  attached  to  the  agents,  and  the 
addition  of  the  decorations i^f  fancy,  the  similarity  may  be 
such  as  to  render  presumptive  their  Israelitish  origin.  The 
remembrance  of  those  more  important,  but  alike  memorable 
events,  which  involved  the  interests  of  other  nations  besides 
the  .Tews,  especially  of  the  kingdom  of  Assyria  or  Egypt, 
would  naturally  have  been  transmitted,  without  the  bounds 
of  Judea,  from  one  generation  to  another,  till  they  should 
find  a  place  in  less  obscure  and  historical  records ;  and  direct 
references  to  them  may  be  found  in  such  memorials  as  ex- 
ist of  the  history  of  those  ancient  kingdoms  with  whose  in- 
terests those  of  Israel  were  at  times  involved.  The  knowl- 
edge of  those  things  which  are  written  in  the  Bible,  that  per- 
tained to  the  general  state  of  the  world,  or  affected  equally 
the  whole  family  of  man,  would  naturally  become  the  fun- 
damental traditional  inheritance  of  all  nations,  however 
diverse  their  subsequent  character,  and  however  extended 
their  ultimate  dispersion  throughout  the  world.  And  fixed 
monuments,  supplied  by  nature,  may  be  found,  which  bear 
testimony  independent  alike  of  human  tradition  or  record. 
And  from  such  plain  and  independent  means  of  comparison 
and  modes  of  proof,  the  trial  may  be  made  whether— not- 
withstanding the  darkness  which  overspread  the  whole  pa- 
gan world  in  the  times  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  the 
meagerness  of  all  the  detailed  events  that  have  come  down 
from  thence  to  this  far  distant  period — the  sacred  writings 
of  the  Jews  and  the  facts  which  they  register  are  not  cor- 
robiirated  by  concurring  testimony,  not  only  more  copious, 
apposite,  and  clear  than  the  reader,  if  unused  to  such  an  in- 
vestigation, could  have  surmised  or  conceived,  even  on  the 
supposition  of  the  perfect  truth  of  the  Bible,  but  also  suffi- 
cient to  give  the  lie  to  the  supposititious  and  unsubstantiated 
assertions  of  hostile  declaimers  ;  and  enough,  where  their 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  97 

allegations  are  the  boldest,  to  refute  the  calumnies,  and, 
where  their  boastings  are  the  loudest,  to  put  to  silence  the 
ignorance  of  foolish  men,  who  speak  evil  of  the  things  that 
they  do  not  or  will  not  understand. 

It  is,  unhappily,  the  more  needful  to  adduce  or  recapitulate# 
such  testimony  at  a  time  when,  forgetful  that  judgments  on 
nations  are  not  yet  passed  away,  and  that  the  judgment  of 
each  individual  is  yet  to  come,  men  are  to  be  found  in  a 
land  professedly  Christian  who  desecrate  what  even  pagans 
revered  ;  and  who,  renouncing  the  scriptures  as  they  are 
given  for  instruction  in  righteousness,  convert  them  into 
themes  for  profane  ribaldry  and  matter  for  impious  exhibi- 
tions, and  turn  the  recorded  terrors  of  the  Lord  into  scenes 
of  theatrical  mockery  and  merriment,  as  if  God  had  left  the 
ruins  of  guilty  cities  and  the  wreck  of  a  former  world  to  tes- 
tify in  vain  of  the  certainty  of  judgments  and  the  truth  of 
his  word,  and  as  if  men  were  vindicating  the  renewal  of  his 
wrath  by  defying  his  right  hai^  to  take  hold  on  vengeance 
again. 

Towards  the  close  of  last  century,  and  in  the  beginning  of 
the  present,  many,  full  charged  with  infidelity,  went  forth 
from  France,  and  some  from  England  too,  in  unholy  pil- 
grimages to  the  scenes  of  scriptual  history.  It  was  easy  for 
such  ingenious  sophists,  by  the  construction  of  a  theory  from 
strata  of  lava,  or  paintings  on  a  wall,  to  show,  as  if  with 
mathematical  demonstration,  that  these  things  had  existed 
for  thousands  of  years  before  the  Mosaic  date  of  the  creation. 
Unhappily  for  such  fancies,  the  discovery  has  soon  followed 
that  similar  successive  strata  cover  ruins  first  entombed  af- 
ter the  Christian  era,  and  that  scarcely  a  higher  date  can  be 
assigned  to  the  wall  from  which  the  proof  was  taken  of  the 
antiquity  of  the  world.  But,  in  a  matter  of  evidence,  we  may 
turn  from  imaginary  theories  to  the  facts  which  dissipate 
them,  though  they  were  multiplied  beyond  the  power  of  enu- 
meration. And  if  science,  in  these  respects,  he  so  far  per- 
fected that  the  truth  can  be  elucidated,  then  the  objections 
against  holy  writ,  however  forcible,  singly  or  in  combina- 
tion, they  may  seem  to  every  eye  that  is  turned  aside  from 
a  doctrine  according  to  godliness,  need  but  to  be  brought  to 
the  Hght  that  their  inherent  hollowness  may  be  discovered ; 
and  without  specifying  their  nature  or  reckoning  their  num- 
ber, if  they  stand  not,  like  the  facts  recorded  by  Volney,  pil- 
lars of  the  faith,  their  pretensions  need  but  to  be  contrasted 
with  their  fallacy,  that  they  may  remain,  till  their  remem- 
brance perish,  the  memorials  of  the  truth  of  the  favourite 
maxim  of  those  who  framed  them,  that,  as  to  them,  ridicule  • 
is  the  test  of  truth. 

Truth  is  immutable.     And  the  Scriptures  profess  to  be  the 
word  of  Him  who  changeth  not.     Falsehood,  on  the  other 


98  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

hand,  is  fluctuating  and  perishable.  And  the  arguments  of 
skeptics  against  the  credibility  of  the  Mosaic  histoiy  have 
shown  their  chameleon  quality,  atid  varied  not  a  little  in  their 
form  and  substance,  since  Voltaire,  fcMful  of  admitting  a  fact 
illustrative  of  the  truth  of  the  deluge,  denied  the  existence 
of  any  fossil  remains.  It  may  suffice  for  our  present  purpose, 
and  be  best  suited  to  our  limited  space,  to  combine  in  a  sin- 
gle view  the  various  evidence  draxyn  from  sources  the  most 
independent  of  each  other  that  can  possibly  be  conceived, 
corroborative  of  the  Old  Testament  history,  in  reference 
specially  to  facts  which  have  been  keenly  controverted. 


SECTION  II. 

In  respect  to  the  creation  of  the  world  from  a  state  ol 
chaos,  and  the  formation  of  ftian  from  the  clay  or  dust  of  the 
earth,  though  alike  antecedent  to  all  human  testimony,  the 
concurrence  of  the  scriptural  narrative  with  that  which  had 
come  down  from  the  earliest  ages  is  such  that  Ovid,  recount- 
ing it,  seems  to  be  the  paraphrast  of  Moses.  Long  prior  to 
the  most  ancient  of  records,  the  great  events  which  involved 
the  destiny  of  our  race  were  necessarily  such  as  could  not 
but  be  transmitted,  though  in  a  faint  and  fabulous  form,  from 
generation  to  generation.  And  the  golden  age,  in  which 
holiness  and  happiness  prevailed,  denotes  the  primeval  inno- 
cence and  bliss,  when  all  things  were  good  as  God  had  crea- 
ted them.  The  garden  of  the  Hesperides,  bearing  golden 
apples,  is  a  picture  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  where  grew  every 
tree  that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight ;  while  the  serpent  that  is 
reputed  to  have  guarded  them,  together  with  the  prevalence 
of  serpent-worship  throughout  the  wrorld,  is  too  faithful  a 
testimony  that  there  was  a  serpent  there.  Testimonies  to 
the  same  fact  may  be  drawn  from  the  New  World  as  from 
the  Old.  "  It  is  quite  notorious  that  serpent- worship  was 
the  great  characteristic  of  Mexican  mythology.  If  the  ser- 
pent symbol  at  Palenque  conveys  a  strong  indication  of 
Tultican  affinity  with  Syria,  there  are  numerous  others  of  a 
still  more  convincing  nature.  Dupain  exhibits  a  silver  med- 
al, found  in  one  of  the  sepulchral  monuments,  which  indeed 
points  to  the  source  of  the  whole  Ophitic  (serpent)  worship. 
A  man  and  woman  are  represented  in  a  garden  with  a  ser- 
pent near  them.  This  is  obviously  a  picture  record  of  the 
first  pair  in  Eden,  the  serpent,  and  the  fall."*  Pandora's  box, 
on  the  opening  of  which,  by  the  hand  of  a  woman,  all  evils 
spread  throughout  the  world,  is  a  significant  emblem  of  the 

*  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  No.  xxxv.,  p.  60,  61. 


OF   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTDRES.  99 

origin  of  evil ;  while  hope,  at  the  bottom,  was  as  significant 
a  symbol  of  the  prophetic  promise,  that,  by  the  seed  of  the 
woman,  evil  would  finally  be  destroyed. 

"  Nature,"  says  Cuvier,  "  distinctly  informs  us  that  the 
commencement  of  the  present  order  of  things  cannot  be  da- 
ted at  a  very  remote  period ;  and  it  is  very  remarkable  that 
mankind  everywhere  speak  the  same  language  with  na 
ture."* 

The  memory  of  the  deluge  was  not  lost  by  any  nation 
from  the  one  extremity  of  the  globe  to  the  other ;  and  in 
proof  that  the  tradition  was  maintained  through  many  ages, 
evidence  of  the  same  fact  has  been  borne  in  modern  times 
from  China,  Hindostan,  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  Mexico, 
and  Peru,  which  concurs  with  the  testimony,  remote  in  time 
as  in  place,  which  Chaldea,  Egypt,  Persia,  Greece,  and  Rome 
anciently  supplied.  "  The  people  of  Mechoacan  have  pre- 
served a  tradition,  according  to  which  Coxcox,  whom  they 
call  Tezpi,  embarked  in  a  spacious  acalli  with  his  wife  and 
children,  many  animals  and  grain,  the  preservation  of  which 
was  dear  to  the  human  race.  When  the  Great  Spirit  com- 
manded the  waters  to  retire,  Tezpi  sent  forth  from  his  bark 
a  vulture.  The  bird,  nourished  by  dead  flesh,  did  not  return 
on  account  of  the  great  number  of  carcasses  which  were 
scattered  upon  the  newly-dried  earth.  Tezpi  sent  out  other 
birds,  of  which  the  humming-bird  alone  returned,  bearing  in 
its  beak  a  branch  covered  with  leaves.  After  which  Tezpi, 
seeing  that  the  soil  began  to  be  covered  with  new  verdure, 
left  his  bark  near  the  mountain  of  Colhuacan."  "  Every- 
where," adds  Humboldt,  "  the  traces  of  a  common  origin, 
the  opinions  concerning  cosmogony,  and  the  primitive  tra- 
ditions of  nations,  present  a  striking  analogy  even  in  minute 
circumstances.  Does  not  the  humming-bird  of  Tezpi  call  to 
mind  the  dove  of  Noah,  that  of  Deucalion,  and  the  birds,  ac- 
cording to  Berosus,  which  Xisutrus  sent  forth  from  the  ark, 
to  try  if  the  waters  had  subsided,  and  if  as  yet  he  could  erect 
altars  to  the  gods  of  Chaldea  V— Humboldt,  Vues  des  Cor- 
dilleres,  p.  227.  The  raven  no  less  than  the  dove,  and  the 
order  no  less  than  the  name  ;  the  first,  the  ravenous  bird  not 
returning  ;  the  second,  for  ever  afterward  the  bird  of  peace, 
reappearing  and  re-entering,  identify  each  narrative  as  that 
of  the  selfsame  fact  with  a  speciality  of  circumstances  which 
sober  reason  cannot  misinterpret  or  mistrust.  And  the  leafy 
twig  in  the  bill  of  a  Httle  bird  needs  but  to  be  traditionally 
brought  back  again  from  the  extremity  of  the  globe,  where, 
without  the  possibility  of  being  transplanted  anew,  it  had 
flourished  for  many  ages,  in  order  to  prove,  at  last,  as  fresh 
a  testimony,  to  the  old  world  and  to  the  new,  of  the  truth  of 

*  Cuvier's  Theory  of  the  Earth,  ^  32. 


100  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

the  fact,  as  at  first  it  was  a  sure  token  to  the  inmates  of  the 
ark  that  they  should  soon  tread  on  the  renovated  earth. 
How,  but  as  coming  from  the  only  surviving  family  of  man, 
could  the  tradition  have  been  preserved  simple  and  uncor- 
rupted,  in  the  midst  of  the  remotest  regions  so  long  undis- 
covered. One  half  of  the  world  was  unknown  unto  the  other, 
but  the  twig  that  a  bird  did  bear  was  remembered  by  both  ; 
nor  was  the  leaf  forgotten.  It  survived  like  the  ark  in  a 
deluged  world ;  and  it  alone  may  show  that  faith  may  bud 
again  where  afore  it  was  blasted.  While  the  prophetic  fate 
of  the  sons  of  Noah  is  visible  to  this  hour,  the  very  names 
of  several  of  the  earliest  nations — such  as  the  Canaanites, 
Assyrians,  Elymceites,  Lydians,  Medes,  and  Hebrews* — cor- 
roborate to  the  letter  the  historical  facts  recorded  by  Mo- 
ses, that  Canaan,  Ashur,  Elam,  Lud,  Madai,  and  Eber  were 
justly  numbered  among  the  descendants  of  Noah,  by  whom 
the  nations  were  divided  in  the  earth  after  the  flood.  "  The 
period  of  seven  days,  by  far  the  most  permanent  division  of 
time,  and  the  most  ancient  monument  of  astronomical  knowl- 
edge, was  used  by  the  Brahmins  in  India  with  the  same  de- 
nominations employed  by  us,  and  was  alike  found  in  the  cal- 
endars of  the  Jews,  Egyptians,  Arabs,  and  Assyrians.  It  has 
survived  the  fall  of  empires,  and  has  existed  among  all  suc- 
cessive generations,  a  proof  of  their  common  origin."!  While 
the  destruction  of  Sodom,  synchronical  with  the  call  of 
Abraham,  did  not  pass  unnoticed  by  ancient  writers,  the 
Dead  Sea,  a  bituminous  lake,  unlike  to  any  other,  is  a  stri- 
king corroboration  of  the  recorded  judgment  on  the  cities  of 
the /j/mw,  which  its  waters  have  since  filled:  and  the  recent 
and  remarkable  discovery,  that  the  Jordan,  before  its  course 
was  stayed,  passed  through  the  plain  and  flowed  into  the  Red 
Sea,  is  strikingly  illustrative  of  the  scriptural  narrative,  as 
Colonel  Leake,  the  learned  editor  of  Burckhardt's  work,  has 
observed  ;  and  that  fact  has  since  been  amply  elucidated  by 
the  scientific  Leon  Laborde,  and  the  evidence  is  set  before 
us  by  a  chart  of  the  channel,  or  of  the  valley  through  which 
the  Jordan  flowed,  and  which  still  retains  its  name,  El  Ghor, 
where  the  Jordan  once  flowed  as  where  it  still  flows  on. 

And  while  the  alleged  want  of  a  contemporary  history  is 
thus  newly  supplied,  a  still  more  recent  discovery  presents 
a  contemporary  picture,  coeval  with  the  birth  of  Moses,  and 
copied  by  Rosselini  and  Wilkmson,  which  may  be  said  to  be 
a  commentary  on  the  first  chapter  of  Exodus,  and  to  set  the 
Israelites  before  our  eyes  actually  engaged  in  the  hard  bond- 
age in  mortar  and  brick  as  Moses  described  them.  The 
Egyptian  taskmaster  is  set  over  them  with  a  rod  in  his  hand; 

*  Bochart.  &c. 

t  Mra.  Somerville  on  the  Physical  Sciences,  p.  104. 


[TJ»I7EESITr] 


# 


tirarTtij^l^A, 


[TJiriVBESITT] 


OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.     101 

the  diversity  of  colour  as  well  as  of  their  countenances  distin- 
guish the  oppressed  Hebrew  slaves;  and  the  whole  process 
of  their  labour  is  seen  till  the  tale  of  bricks  maybe  counted. 
"  Their  countenances  are  as  perfectly  Jewish,"  according  to 
the  Literary  Gazette,  "  as  those  of  any  old  clothesmen  from 
St.  Mary  Axe  who  now  perambulate  the  streets  of  London. 
Neither  Lawrence  nor  Jackson  could  have  painted  more  real 
Jews ;  the  features  so  changeless  and  so  peculiar  to  that  peo- 
ple. And  then  their  occupation  ;  the  several  portions  of  the 
process  of  brick-making,  their  limbs  bespattered  with  the 
mud,  and  their  Egyptian  taskmasters  with  the  scourge  super- 
intending their  labour.  The  whole  seems  to  us  to  be  a  clear 
and  decisive  evidence,  not  only  of  the  captivity,  but  of  the 
actual  circumstances  related  in  the  history  of  Moses.  The 
Egyptians  in  the  orignial  are  paii  ted  in  the  usual  red  ;  the 
Israelites  of  a  shIIow  colour;  and  when  we  reflect  that, 
throughout  all  the  other  subjects  figured  in  these  sepulchres 
of  Beni-Hassan,  the  utmost  regard  is  paid  to  individuality, 
and  eveil  to  minute  accessories,  we  cannot  imagine  a  reason 
to  induce  us  to  question  the  truth  and  application  of  this  re- 
markable discovery."*  "  Rosselini's  last  livraison  of  illustra- 
tions brings  those  Jews  before  our  eyes  who  were  captives 
in  Egypt  under  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  and  previous  to  the 
Exodus  Independently  of  other  evidence  drawn  from  the 
phonetic  la'ngUHge  to  prove  that  they  are  Jews,  no  cursory 
reader  who  glances  at  their  lineament#or  persons  will  for 
a  moment  doubt  their  identity.  These  Jews  are  employed 
under  the  dynasty  of  the  very  kings  contemporary  with  Moses, 
in  the  specific  act  of  shivery,  which  he  and  Manet  ho  both  de- 
scribe, viz.,  making  bricks  and  working  in  the  quarries.  An 
Egyptian  taskmaster  superintends  the  work  ;  and  the  bricks, 
according  to  their  delineation,  are  precisely  those  which  are 
fojund  in  walls  constructed  of  bricks,  the  date  of  which  is  as- 
signable to  the  era  in  question."!  The  Egyptians  set  over 
them  taskmasters  to  afflict  them  loith  their  burdens,  and  made 
their  lives  bitter  with  hard  boyidage,  in  mortar  arid  in  brick,  and 
in  all  manner  of  service  in  thefield.%  Exclusive  of  the  brick- 
makers  set  before  our  eyes  by  Rosselini,  a  small  picture  is 
also  introduced  in  the  annexed  plate,  which  was  kindly  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Wilkinson.  The  outline  of  some  of  the  heads 
and  features  are  exactly  engraved  of  the  full  size  of  the 
original  drawings. 

The  temporary  triumph  of  the  Egyptians  over  the  Jews  in 
a  subsequent  age  has  also,  in  that  land  of  their  enemies,  a 
striking  memorial.  Shishak,  or  Sheshouk,  king  of  Egypt,  is 
represented  in  another  of  Champollion's  drawings  as  "drag- 

*  Literary  Gazette,  No.  943,  p.  99. 

t  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  No.  xxxii.,  p.  318. 

t  Exodus  i.,  11,14. 

12 


102  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

ging  the  chiefs  of  above  thirty  conquered  nations  to  the  feet 
of  the  idols  of  Thebes."  One  of  these  is  represented  in 
hieroglyphic  characters  as  Joudaha  Malek,  the  king  of  Judah.* 
And  in  the  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Judah  we  read  that 
Reh()boani  (the  son  of  Solomon)  forsook  the  law  of  the 
Lord,  and  ;ill  Israel  with  him.  And  in  the  fifth  yearof  King 
Rehoboam,  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  came  up  against  Jerusalem, 
and  took  the  fenced  cities  of  Judah,  and  came  to  Jerusalem. 
Then  came  Shemaiah  the  propheUto  Jiehoboam  and  to  the 
princes  of  Judah  that  were  gathered  together  to  Jerusalem 
because  of  Shi.«shak,  and  said  unto  them,  Thus  sailh  the  Lord, 
Ye  have  forsaken  me,  and  therefore  have  1  also  left  you  in 
the  hands  of  Shishak.  So  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt,  came  up 
against  Jerusalem,  and  took  away  the  treasures  of  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  the  treasures  of  the  king's  house  :  he  car- 
ried away  also  the  shields  of  gold  which  Solomon  had 
made.f  Rehoboam,  the  king  of  Judah,  is  still  to  be  seen, 
as  for  a  time  he  was  left,  according  to  the  word  of  the  proph- 
et, in  the  hand  of  Shishak,  king  of  Egypt. 

The  history  of  the  Jews  needs  not  any  other  concurring 
evidence  to  show  that  their  prophetic  fate  was  portrayed  by 
Moses  as  faithfully  as  a  painter  could  depict  their  visage. 
While  he  is  thus  set  forth  as  the  prophet  of  the  Highest,  it 
may  be  mentioned,  as  Grotius  and  others  have  shown,  that 
pagan  writers  in  ancient  times  failed  not  to  pay  sbme  tribute 
of  respect  to  the  Iff  islator  of  Israel.  As  a  writer,  he  was 
deemed  worthy  by  Longinus  of  honourable  mention  in  his 
treatise  on  the  Sublime.  As  the  promulgator  of  a  new  reli- 
gion wholly  divested  of  idolatry,  Strabo  describes  him  as 
abandoning  Egypt,  followed  by  those  who  worshipped  God 
alone,  and  planting  his  people  and  his  faith  in  that  land  of 
which  Jerusalem  was  afterward  the  capital.^  The  name  of 
the  desert,  El  Tih,  or  the  wandering,  is  yet  a  testimony  of  i]^e 
wanderings  of  the  Israelites.  And  in  reference  to  the  his- 
tory of  Moses,  Laborde,  who  partly  traversed  the  same  route, 
states  that  the  Bible  is  so  concise  and  so  precisely  true,  that 
it  is  only  by  a  close  attention  to  each  word  that  all  its  merit 
can  be  discovered.^  The  tomb  of  Aaron,  on  the  summit  of 
Mount  Hor,  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  objects  in  the 
land  of  Edom,  and,  surrounded  as  it  is  by  many  an  evidence 
of  prophetic  truth,  still  bears  testimony  to  the  death  and 
burying-place  of  the  first  high-priest  of  Israel.  Aaron  died 
there  on  the  top  of  the  mount.     Though,  till  within  these 

*  See  the  Saturday  Magazine,  No.  81. 

t  1  Kings  xiv.,  25,  26.    2  Chron.  xii.,  1-9. 

i  Strabo,  1.  xvi.,  torn,  ii.,  p.  1082,  1083,  ed.  Falcon. 

^  "  La  Bible  est  si  concise,  mais  en  m^me  temps  d'une  precision  si  vraie, 
que  c'est  avec  une  attention  fix^e  sur  chaque  mot  qu'on  pent  en  retrouver 
tout  \e  m6rite. — Voyage  de  L' Arabic  Petrde,  p.  39. 


A    h 


■H 


# 


^'^^  Of  TOM 

[TJiriVBESITT) 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES. 


103 


very  few  years,  unheard  of  and  unknown,  and  situated  in 
the  midst  of  the  land  of  the  enemies  of  Israel ;  though  for 
many  ages  possessed  by  the  wild  Arabs,  neither  of  Israelitish 
nor  of  Christian  faitii,  yet  there,  on  the  top  of  Mount  Hor, 
where  he  died,  is  the  tomb  of  Aaron,  a  memorial  on  the  spot. 
In  contradiction  to  positive  evidence  and  existing  facts, 
skeptics  have  denied  the  ancient  fertility  of  Palestine.  But 
as  the  fruit  of  the  land  was  of  old  shown  unto  the  Israelites, 
similar  evidence  may  be  adduced  from  "  the  gleaning  of  the 
grapes,"  though  the  vintage  is  done.  "  Galilee,"  says  Malte- 
Brun,  "  would  be  a  paradise  were  its  inhabitant*  an  indus- 
trious people  under  -An  enlightened  g(»vernmeMt.  Vine-stocks 
are  to  be  found  here  a  fool  and  a  half  in  diameter,  forming 
by  their  tw^innig  branches  vast  arches  and  extensive  ceilings 
of  verdure.  A  cluster  of  grapes,  two  or  three  feet  in  length, 
will  give  an  abundant  supper  to  a  whole  family."*  From 
the  opposite  extremity  of  Palestine,  Laborde  thus  presents 
us  with  a  grape  or  two  of  an  enormous  cluster. 


The  progress  of  population  in  America  has  supplied  a  prac- 
tical refutation  of  the  objection  which  skeptics  theoretically 
adduced  against  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  rapid  multiplica- 
tion of  the  human  race,  and  the  early  establishment  of  king- 
doms after  the  era  of  the  deluge. 

"  As  regards  the  actual  progress  of  population  in  the  prim- 
itive ages,  the  example  of  the  United  States  furnishes  a  very 
important  experimental  parallel.  The  white  population  of 
these  provinces  amounted  in  1790  to  3,200,000,  and  has  been 

*  Malte-Brun's  Geography,  vol.  ii.,  p.  148. 


104  THK    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHBNTIClTr 

ascertained  by  the  censuses  of  1800,  1810,  1820,  and  1830,  to 
have  doubled  itself  within  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and  to  be 
still  proceeding  at  that  rate,  as  appears  by  the  American 
Almanac  for  1832.  Mr.  Malthushad  arrived  at  a  similar  con- 
clusion before  the  census  of  1820.  Should  this  progress  con- 
tinue unabated  for  160  years  longer,  the  number  would  be 
800,000,000,  which  is  nearly  equal  to  the  estimated  popula- 
tion of  the  world  ;  while  reverting  to  the  mean  date  of  plant- 
ing, A. D.  1065,  the  same  principle  of4ncrease,  which  the  last- 
mentioned  writer  (an  undeniable  authority  for  information 
and  data,  however  we  may  be  disposed  to  disagree  with  his 
general  system)  concludes  to  have  been  in  force  for  a  cen- 
tury and  a  half  preceding  the  year  1800,  would  suppose  a 
population  of  100,000  only  at  that  period  ;  and  ascending,  for 
the  sake  of  the  parallel,  325  years  higher,  we  should  arrive 
at  the  number  twelve,  being  that  of  the  sons  of  Noah  with 
their  wives,  supposing  their  number  to  have  been  doubled,  in 
agreement  with  the  principle  we  are  speaking  of,  within  two 
years  after  the  flood,  the  date  of  the  birth  of  Arphaxad  (Gen. 
xL,  10). 

"  Thus  it  appears  that,  according  to  the  American  progress, 
twelve  males  and  females  might  increase  to  100,000  in  325 
years,  to  3,200,000  in  450  years,  and  to  820,000,000  in  650 
year..  But  supposing  the  primitive  population  to  have 
doubled  itself  in  fifteen  years,  of  which  we  are  not  without 
examples  in  modern  states — such  has  been  the  progress  in  the 
back  settlements  of  America,  according  to  Dr.  Price — then 
mankind  might  have  arrived  at  the  number  of  400,000  in  225 
years,  the  interval  which  the  Hebrew  account  supposes  be- 
tween the  deluge  and  the  middle  data  of  Peleg's  life,  and  have 
increased  to  the  maximum  of  820,000,000  in  390  years,  when 
Abraham  was  about  forty  years  old."* 

Though  populous  kingdoms  may  thus  be  of  recent  origin, 
and  spring  rapidly,  like  Rome,  from  small  beginnings,  pride 
is  natural  to  nia.i ;  and  the  race  of  antediluvian  and  post- 
diluvian patriarchs  prior  to  the  establishment  of  kingdoms, 
supplied  an  easy  means  to  the  primitive  nations  of  gratifying 
the  pride  of  ancestry,  and  attributing  their  origin  to  a  high 
antiquity,  simply  by  appropriating  peculiarly  to  each  what 
was  alike  common  to  all.  The  following  lucid  exposition  of 
this  topic  also  is  here  thankfully  adopted. 

"It  is  commonly  urged  that  the  times  of  the  gods,  heroes, 
priests,  or  by  whatever  other  names  they  were  called,  which 
are  found  prefixed  to  the  histories  of  all  primitive  nations,  and 
to  whom  the  foundation  of  cities  and  kingdoms  is  too  com- 
monly attributed,  requires  the  utmost  latitude  which  the  bib- 

*  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  vol  xii.»  p.  328. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  105 

lical  computation  of  time  will  allow.  Such  is  the  theory 
which  assumes,  without  a  shadow  of  authority  from  any 
ancient  writer,  that  successive  hierarchies,  devoted  to  the 
worship  of  Hephaestus,  Helius,  Cronus  and  Osiris,  laid  the 
foundation  of  Thebes,  and  erected  its  most  enormous  edifices 
in  ages  long  preceding  Menes  and  the  Egyptian  dynasties. 
These  views,  originally  the  offspring  of  infidelity,  but  unac- 
countably sanctioned  by  too  many  enlightened  inquirers,  are, 
as  we  have  shown,  opposed  by  the  concurrent  evidence  of 
the  Jewish  and  Gentile  writers  of  the  first  ages,  and  they 
are  for  ever  annihilated  by  the  important  series  of  discoveries 
which  has  distinguished  our  times.  Not  only  the  Jews  and 
Egyptians,  but  the  Chinese,  the  Hindoos,  the  Persians,  the 
Chaldeans,  and  other  nations',  have  prefixed  this  priestly  suc- 
cession, under  different  names,  to  their  annals ;  a  community 
of  system  that  at  once  resolves  itself  into  the  patriarchal 
stem  from  whence  all  nations  radiated,  and  which  recognises 
the  monarchical  as  the  common  form  of  government  adopted 
by  mankind  when  separated  into  distinct  societies.  The  last- 
mentioned  fact,  conspicuous  in  the  Mosaic  record,  is  ren- 
dered indisputable  by  the  almost  identical  epochs  of  primi- 
tive monarchies,  so  far  as  history  or  tradition  has  preserved 
them.  All,  however  widely  separated,  have  reference  to  a 
common  epoch ;  and  all  are  preceded  by  one  or  more  eras 
belonging  to  the  priestly  or  patriarchal  ages,  which  identify 
themselves  with  the  Mosaic  accounts  of  the  same  series  of 
events.  This  will  clearly  appear  if  the  reader  will  take  the 
trouble  to  compare  the  following  table  with  the  former  one.* 


References  to  Text. 

Cli.'vl- 
dea. 

II. 
Chi- 
nese. 

III. 

Hin- 
doo. 

VII. 
Egypt. 

V. 

VI. 

Sicyon. 

IV. 
Hin- 
doo. 

(lods,  or  Antedihivians,  B.C. 
Demigods,  or  posldiimiaiis 

3673 
3490 
■2233 

2952 

2357 
2207 

3164 

2204 

3389 
2405 

2988 

2185 

2.376 
2171 

aioi 

2102 

"  The  circumstance  most  worth)-  of  notice  in  reference  to 
these  dates,  and  a  most  important  one,  is,  that  all  the  epochs 
of  primitive  kingdoms,  from  China  to  Peloponnesus,  fall  in  with 
Peleg'^s  lifetime.,  according  to  the  Hebreio.  It  hence  becomes 
self-evident,  that  all  have  reference  to  the  common  stem  and 

*  "  We  here  insert  a  table  of  the  deluge  and  of  the  birth  and  death  of 
Peleg,  together  with  the  mean  date  of  his  life  according  to  the  Hebrew, 
Samaritan,  and  the  Greek  authorities,  adding  the  mean  date  of  the  flood 
fixed  only  by  Klaproth  in  his  '  Asia  Polyglotta,'  from  a  comparison  of  the 
Samaritan,  the  Chinese,  and  the  Hindoo  elements.  We  also  insert  the 
Egyptian  eras  of  Champollion  and  Rosellini  in  their  proper  places,  adopting 
the  received  and  demonstrable  date  of  the  birth  of  Abraham,  B.C.  1996,  as 
fixed  by  ail  the  versions,  and  subscribed  to  by  Champollion,  for  the  basis  ol 
the  whole." 


i06 


THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 


common  era  of  kingdoms ;  and  this  furnishes  another  pow- 
erful argument  that  the  Hebrew  numbers,  thus  confirmed  by 
widely-separated  witnesses,  coiUain  the  original  computa- 
tion of  sacred  history."* 

While  an  important  series  of  discoveries  which  have  distin- 
guished our  times,  has  annihilated  for  ever  skeptical  theories 
in  this  instance  as  in  others  ;  and  the  origin  of  primitive  king- 
doms is  traced  to  a  common  era,  identified  with  that  of  the 
lifetime  of  Peleg,  his  name  is  not  only  thus  linked  in  cor- 
roborative testimony,  but  it  is  associated  also  with  a  series  of 
internal  proofs,  which,  from  the  beginning,  distinguished  the 
history  of  the  Hebrew  race  from  that  of  all  the  families  among 
which  the  earth  was  divided. 


SECTION  III. 

The  name  of  Peleg,  the  son  of  Eber,  and  an  ancestor  of 
Abraham,  has  a  literal  significancy  worthy  of  the  place  which 
it  occupies,  and  the  importance  of  which  may  now  be  appre- 
ciated. The  Hebrew  word  Peleg  signifies  division.  And  that 
name  was  given  to  him ;  '^''for  in  his  days  was  the  earth  di- 
vided" "  among  the  famines  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  after  their 
generations  in  their  nations."!  Or.  in  other  words,  as  mod- 
ern discoveries  or  researches  show,  "  all  the  epochs  of  primi- 
tive kingdoms  fall  in  with  Peleg's  lifetime,"  whose  name 
denotes  their  division. 

Coeval  with  the  days  of  Peleg  was  the  building  of  Babel ; 
and  up  to  the  period  when  the  great  family  of  man  was  di- 
vided into  distinct  nations,  and  spread  over  the  earth,  may 
be  traced  the  diversity  of  tongues.  And  combining  historic 
with  prophetic  truth,  the  earliest  of  cities  supplies,  from  the 
first  as  to  the  last,  its  concurring  testimony.  "While  the 
judgment-stricken  Babylon,  cut  down  to  the  ground  because 
it  had  striven  against  the  Lord,  is  spread  forth  as  a  tablet  on 


The  deluge  ceases  B.C.  .  .  . 
Egyptian  era  of  ChampoUion 
Egyptian  era  of  Roseliini   .  . 

Birth  of  Peleg     

Mean  date  of  Peleg's  life    .  . 

Death  of  Peleg 

Birth  of  Abraham     


Hebr. 

2347 


2247 
2127 
2008 
1996 


2997 


2597 
2477 
2358 


LXX.  Cod.  Rom. 


2997  or  3097 


2597  or  2697 
2427  or  2527 
2258  or  2358 


1996' 1996   1996 


3127 


2597 
2427 
2258 
1996 


3047 
264*7 
1996 


Klap. 


3076 
2782 
2712 


»  Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  xii.,  p.  384. 
tGen.  X.,  25-32. 


See  Appendix. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  107 

which  the  spirit  of  prophecy  has  set  its  seal,  and  has  stamped 
with  many  indelible  impressions,  as  its  own,  the  name  {Babel 
or  Babylon,  i.  e.,  confusion*)  yet  remains  an  undecaying  me- 
morial of  the  confusion  of  tongues.  And  while  the  walls  of 
the  greatest  city  on  which  the  sun  ever  shone  have  long 
ceased  to  be  the  wonder  of  the  world,  except  m  their  being 
utterly  broken,  the  name  of  Babel  or  Babylon,  no  longer  a 
terror  to  the  nations,  is  a  proverb  to  the  people,  and  in  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth  still  bears  concurring  testimony  to  the 
cause  of  the  original  dispersion  of  our  race. 

The  next  great  event,  alike  influential  on  the  fate  of  the 
world,  and  calculated  ultimately  to  bring  all  mankind  into  one 
family — the  household  of  the  faith — was  the  call  of  Abraham, 
and  the  covenant  of  God  with  the  patriarch,  whose  name  is 
no  less  renowned  than  that  of  Babylon.  And  like  another 
nail  fastened  in  a  sure  place,  that  name  was  given  by  the 
Lord.  God  talked  with  him,  saying,  As  for  me,  behold  my  cov- 
enant is  ivith  thee ;  and  thou  shall  be  a  father  of  many  nations. 
Neither  shall  thy  name  any  more  be  called  Abram;  but  thy  name 
shall  be  called  Abraham;  for  a  father  of  many  nations  have  I 
made  thee.  And  I  will  make  thee  exceeding  fruitful ;  and  I  will 
make  nations  of  thee,  and  kings  shall  come  out  of  thee.] 

While  the  whole  history  of  the  Jews,  in  every  age  and  in 
every  land,  is  a  perpetual  proof  of  the  inspiration  of  Scrip- 
ture, a  still  existing  progeny,  "numerous  as  the  stars  of  heav- 
en," and  scattered  over  the  earth,  even  as  these  bespangle 
the  firmament,  is  an  existing  proof  that  none  but  the  Omnis- 
cient could,  in  truth,  have  given  to  their  primogenitor  the 
name  of  Abraham,  i.  e.,  the  father  of  a  multitude.  To  whom 
else,  since  his  days,  can  the  name  so  appropriately  pertain, 
as  to  him  whose  descendants  peopled  Palestine,  Edom,  and 
Arabia  ;  and  whom  the  Arabs,  with  their  multitude  of  tribes, 
and  the  Israelites,  dispersed  throughout  the  earth,  both  alike 
still  numbered  by  millions,  have  claimed,  for  more  than  a 
hundred  generations,  as  their  common  father  ?  And  whose 
prophetic  name  yet  awaits  its  full  significancy,  till  all  the 
families  of  the  earth  shall  be  blessed  in  his  seed,  and  all  na- 
tions shall  call  that  man  the  father  of  the  faithful ;  to  whom 
the  Lord  thus  spake,  "  Thy  name  shall  be  Abraham ;  for  a 
father  of  many  nations  have  I  made  thee ;"  and  of  whom  he 
said,  "  1  am  the  God  of  Abraham."  Not  a  word  can  come  in 
vain  from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord ;  and  as  this  word  has  not 
returned  void,  but  is  still  proved  by  millions,  or  multitudes 
of  the  seed  of  Abraham,  so  that  name  itself,  literally  under- 
stood, cannot  be  repeated  without  perpetuating  the  testimony 
which  it  bears  to  the  call  of  Abraham. 

But  the  name  of  Abraham  was  not  the  only  patronymic 

♦  Gen.  xi.,  9.  t  Ibid,  xvji.,  4-6. 


108  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AiJTHENTICITT 

first  given  on  that  selfsame  day,  but  to  be  held  in  everlast- 
ing renieinbrance.  The  change  of  a  syllable  and  of  a  letter 
gave  a  prophetic  significancy  to  the  names  of  Abram  and 
Sarai,  and,  in  their  new  names  Abraham  and  Sarah,  imbod- 
icd  the  promise  of  the  Lord,  of  which  future  ages  have  man 
ifested  the  fulfilment.  Nations  have  called  her  mother  who 
was  then  known  only  as  aged  and  childless:  and  races  of 
kings  in  Jerusalem  and  Samaria,  after  the  lapse  of  a  thou- 
sand years,  gloried  in  their  pedigree  from  the  venerable  pair 
that  pitched  their  tent  in  the  plain  orMamre  many  centuries 
before  there  was  a  king  in  Israel.  Prophecies  yet  unfulfilled 
speak  of  their  descendants,  when  finally  restored  to  Zion,  as 
those  for  whom  the  isles  shall  surely  wait,  unto  whom  the 
kings  of  the  Gentiles  shall  minister,  and  whom  the  nations 
and  kingdoms  shall  serve  or  be  destroyed.  But  the  name  of 
Sarah  or  princess^  as  given  by  the  Lord,  has  received  such 
illustrations  of  its  significancy  in  ages  past,  as  naturally  star 
tied,  on  their  announcement,  the  faith  of  Abraham.  And  God 
said  unto  Abraham^  as  for  Sarai  thy  wife,  thou  shalt  not  call  her 
name  Sarai,  but  Sarah  shall  her  name  be.  And  I  will  bless  her 
and  give  thee  a  son  also  of  her :  yea,  I  will  bless  her,  and  she 
shall  be  a  mother  of  nations ;  kings  of  people  shall  be  of  her. 
Then  Abraham  fell  upon  his  face  and  laughed,  and  said  in  his 
heart,  Shall  a  child  be  born  unto  him  that  is  a  hundred  years  old  ? 
and  shall  Sarah,  that  is  ninety  years  old,  bear  ?*  The  incredu- 
lity of  man  may  ever  be  overruled  for  the  confirmation  of 
the  word  that  is  of  God.  And  while  the  covenant,  which, 
whether  in  its  observance  or  its  breach  on  the  part  of  the 
Israelites  or  Edomites,  has  been  ratified  by  blessings  and  by 
judgments,  such  as  no  other  covenant  but  that  made  with 
Adam  ever  was,  has  stood  for  nearly  four  thousand  years, 
and  yet  awaits  its  final  and  everlasting  confirmation,  the 
laughter  of  Abraham,  though  he  had  fallen  on  his  face,  and 
of  Sarah  who  subsequently  laughed  within  herself  and  de- 
nied it  with  her  tongue,  has  from  that  hour  been  comniemo- 
rated,  though  unconsciously,  in  the  name  of  Isaac.  And  God 
said,  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  bear  thee  a  son  indeed ;  and  thou  shalt 
call  his  name  Isaac  (i.e.,  laughter);  and  I  will  establish  my 
covenant  with  him  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  and  with  his  seed 
after  him.-\ 

Never  were  names  so  indelibly  affixed  to  any  covenant 
between  man  and  man,  as  those  which  may  thus  be  identi- 
fied as  originating  in  the  covenant  of  God  with  Abraham. 
There  was  not  then  another  man  upon  the  earth  of  whose 
descendants  even  the  existence  is  now  known,  or  to  whom 
such  a  promise  could,  in  truth,  have  been  given.  And  is 
there  a  man  upon  the  earth  who  knows  not  at  sight  the  He 

•Genesis  xvii.,  15,  16, 17.  flbid.  xvii.,  19. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  109 

brew  race  ?  or  who  may  not  see  from  their  existence  and 
their  number  that  God  alone  could  have  given  to  Abram  the 
Hebrew  the  name  of  Abraham  1  In  no  country  on  earth 
could  we  search  in  vain  for  living  commentaries  on  that 
name.  And  there  was  not  then,  besides  Hagar,  another  wo- 
man upon  earth  but  Sarah  only,  whom  any  nation  or  any  in- 
dividual now  calls  mother,  or  of  whom  it  is  recorded  that 
kijjgs  were  descended.  But  to  her  unchangeable  name, 
when  once  it  was  given  by  the  Lord,  is  attached  the  unre- 
pealed promise,  kings  of  the  nations  shall  be  of  her.  And  if 
belief  be  founded  on  experience,  as  our  enemies  maintain, 
and  as  Christians  may  fearlessly  concede,  millenaries  or 
thousands  of  years  go  far  by  their  testimony  to  prove  that 
that  covenant  was  everlasting,  the  apparent  and  natural  im- 
possibility of  the  ratification  of  which,  even  for  a  single  year, 
gave  rise  to  the  incredulity,  even  in  the  breast  of  Abraham, 
which  has  yet  its  memorial  in  every  enunciation  of  the  name 
of  Isaac.  It  needs  no  proof  that  human  compacts  are  dis- 
solved by  time,  as  their  seals  of  wax  melt  before  the  fire. 
The  longer  that  is  the  declared  term  of  their  validity,  the 
more  surely,  in  general,  are  they  ultimately  valueless,  or  pass 
away  as  if  they  had  never  been.  Who  can  tell  how  great  is 
the  number — the  numbers  without  number — of  compacts  be- 
tween man  and  man,  or  of  treaties  between  nation  and  na- 
tion, which  have  never  been  heard  of,  or  are  nothing  now  ? 
And  how  many,  though  designated  perpetual,  are  ever  van- 
ishing away  like  bubbles  on  the  ocean  1  But  the  declaration 
that  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  with  Abraham  and  with  his 
then  unborn  son  was  to  be  everlasting,  is  now,  after  the  lapse 
of  thirty-eight  centuries,  a  strong  confirmation  that  it  was 
the  covenant  of  Him  who  changeth  not,  and  with  whom  all 
things  are  possible ;  for  who  but  God,  setting  up  the  very 
name  as  a  witness  that  it  was  then  deemed  incredible,  could 
have  said  that  it  would  have  lasted  till  now?  And  to  that 
covenant  in  that  selfsame  day,  as  may  here  be  passingly 
noted,  there  was  affixed  a  perpetual  seal,  which,  throughout 
all  intervening  ages,  has  set  apart  the  seed  of  Abraham  from 
the  uncircumcised  Gentiles. 

While  the  Arabs,  the  descendants  of  Ishmael,  the  eldest 
son  of  Abraham,  "  armed  against  mankind,"  have  ever  main- 
tained their  prophetic  character,  and  still  continue  unsub- 
dued and  wild,  till  "  Kedar's  wilderness  afar"  shall  make  its 
voice  to  be  heard  in  the  harmonious  symphony  of  all  na- 
tions, the  name  of  Ishmael,  i.  e.,  the  Lord  shall  hear,*  testifies 
to  the  fact  that,  when  his  mother,  Hagar,  harshly  dealt  with 
by  the  envious  Sarai,  fled  from  her  face,  and  sat  houseless, 
disconsolate,  and  forlorn  by  a  fountain  of  water  in  the  wil- 

♦  Genesis  xvi.,  11. 
K 


110  THB    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

derness,  the  fountain  in  the  way  of  Shur,  the  Lord  heard  hei 
affliction,  and  named,  by  his  angel,  her  yet  unborn  son,  and 
there  gave  the  promise  wliich  he  has  fulfilled,  in  despite  of 
all  the  efforts  of  Persians,  Grecians,  Romans,  Moguls,  and 
Tartars,  who  in  vain  have  sought  to  subjugate  the  seed  of 
Ishmael.  And  as  the  promise  has  thus  its  proofs  that  it  was 
given  by  the  Lord,  the  name  of  Ishmael  testifies  that  the 
Lord  did  hear  when  a  friendless  and  lonely  outcast  cried  at 
a  fountain  in  a  wilderness  ;  and  that  fountain  had  from 
thence  its  name — Becr-lahai-roi,  i.  €.\  the  well  of  him  thai  liv- 
eth  and  seeth  me* — and  thus  became  another  witness  or  me- 
morial of  the  fact,  to  be  added  to  the  name  of  Ishmael. 

The  name  of  Beer-sheba,  the  well  of  the  oath,  brings  us  back 
to  witness,  in  all  the  simplicity  of  patriarchal  times,  the  cov- 
enant between  Abraham  and  Abimelech.f  There,  where 
Abraham  planted  a  grove,  Isaac;  built  a  city,  which  was  long 
famous  in  Israel  as  forming  the  termination  of  Judea  on  the 
south,  and  which  subsisted  under  the  same  name,  at  least, 
till  the  fifth  century  of  our  era;  J  and  the  name,  yet  marking 
the  spot,  is  still  a  memorial  of  that  covenant  which  itself 
was  to  last  but  for  three  generations. 

Abraham  left  not  the  mountain  where  his  hand  was  stay- 
ed, after  it  was  stretched  forth  to  slay  his  son,  without  con- 
secrating the  place,  by  a  new  name,  to  the  glory  of  God,  who 
had  provided  a  burnt-offering  in  the  stead  of  Isaac — Jehovah- 
jireh,  the  Lord  will  provide. 

In  desolate  Edom  we  see  the  proofs  that  the  judgments 
pronounced  against  the  Edomites,  because  of  their  hatred 
against  the  children  of  Israel,  were  indeed  of  God  :  and  in 
the  very  name  of  Edom,  i.  e.,  red,  therefore  given  unto 
Esau,^  we  see  the  colour  of  the  dear-bought  mess  for  which 
he  forfeited  the  birthright  he  despised ;  and  the  line  of  pron>- 
ise  was  transferred  from  him,  when  wilfully  renounced,  to 
his  younger  brother. 

The  name  of  Zoar,  little,  which  long  subsisted  as  a  town 
after  the  great  and  guilty  cities  of  the  plain  were  buried  in 
the  waters  of  the  Dead  Sea,  is  a  comment  on  the  words  of 
Lot  as  he  fled  from  the  impending  destruction.  This  city  is 
near  to  flee  unto,  and  it  is  a  little  one  ;  therefore  the  name 
of  the  city  was  called  Zoar.|| 

As  the  land  and  cities  of  Moab,  desolate  and  broken  down, 
plainly  show  at  present  that  the  prophets  of  IsraeK  literally 
foretold  their  fate,  so  the  name  of  Moah,  i.  e.,  of  the  father, 
has  ever  told  as  plainly  in  its  literal  significancy  the  incestu- 
ous origin  of  the  son  of  Lot,  who  was  the  father  of  the  Mo- 
abites.^ 

*  Genesis  xvi.,  14.         t  Ibid,  xxi.,  27-32.        %  Hieron,  t.  iii.,  174. 
^  Genesis  xxv.,  30.        II  Ibid,  xix.,  20-22.        f  Ibid,  xviii.,  37. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  Ill 

Neither  diversity  of  condition,  nor  change  of  place,  nor 
distance  of  time,  has  obliterated  the  marks  by  which  the 
Jews  were  distinguished  as  a  peculiar  people,  and  even  the 
fashion  of  their  countenance  testifies  the  common  origin  of 
the  Hebrew  race.  The  family  hkeness  of  the  seed  of  Ja- 
cob is  clearly  traceable  between  the  Israelitish  bondsmen  in 
the  days  of  Pharaoh,  and  the  Israelitish  creditors  of  Euro- 
pean kingdoms  in  the  present  day  ;  and  their  fate  in  every 
age  and  in  every  land,  as  foretold  by  the  prophets,  is  of  itself 
a  standing  miracle.  And,  in  Hke  manner,  the  history  of  the 
father  of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  is  not  only  recorded  in 
scripture  with  all  the  precision  of  a  tale  of  yesterday,  but 
names  which  are  as  famihar  as  those  of  a  friend,  or  of  the 
place  of  our  habitation,  may  serve  to  set  the  chief  facts  of 
that  history  before  us. 

Whether  at  his  birth  he  took  his  twin  but  elder  brother  by 
the  heel,  or  in  his  manhood  supplanted  him  and  obtained 
from  his  father  the  blessing  of  the  firstborn,  as  indicated  by 
the  name  of  Jacob,*  signifying  both  the  heel  and  he  that 
supplanteth,  even  as  his  race,  according  to  express  predic- 
tions and  to  fact,  has  supplanted  and  survived  that  of  Esau ; 
or  whether  the  childless  Jacob,  then  a  houseless  wanderer, 
in  danger  of  his  life,  having  fled  from  the  face  of  his  angry 
brother,  lay  down  at  night  to  sleep,  with  nothing  but  the 
earth  for  his  couch  and  a  stone  for  his  pillow,  and  saw  in 
his  dream  a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth  but  reaching  to  heaven, 
and  saw  the  Lord  stand  above  it,  and  heard  the  promise  that 
he,  the  God  of  Abraham  and  of  Isaac,  would  give  to  him  and 
to  his  seed  the  land  whereon  he  lay,  and  that  his  seed  should 
be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth,  as  still  they  are  ;  and  that  he 
should  spread  abroad  to  the  east  and  to  the  west,  to  the  north 
and  to  the  south,  as  they  have  been ;  and  that  in  his  seed  all 
the  families  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed,  as  now  they  may ; 
and  Jacob,  awaking,  said.  Tins  is  none  other  than  the  house 
of  God,  and  set  up  the  stone  for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil  on  it, 
and  called  the  name  of  that  place  Bethel,  i.  e.,  the  house  of 
God,\  whence  originated  that  celebrated  city  and  everlasting 
name :  whether  he  made  a  covenant  with  Laban,  and  de- 
sired his  brethren  to  take  stones  and  make  a  heap,  and  call- 
ed it  Galeed,  or  the  heap  of  witness,t  as  a  witness  between 
them  ;  or,  appealing  to  the  Lord  to  watch  between  them,  he 
called  it  Mizpah,  i.  e.,  the  loatch-toiver,^  as  the  city  of  that 
name  more  than  the  heap  did  in  future  ages  testify,  and  as 
the  history  of  his  race  and  the  yet  auspicious  prophecies 
respecting  them  bear  witness  that  the  Lord  is  the  watch- 
tower  of  Israel :  whether,  on  his  return  to  Canaan,  the  an- 

*  Gen.  XXV.,  26.  t  Ibid,  xxvii.,  18,  19 

X  Ibid,  xxxi.,  48.  <^  Ibid,  xxxi.,  49, 


112  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

gels  of  the  Lord  met  him  on  his  way,  and  he  called  the  name 
of  that  place — also  in  after  ages  a  city  long  famous  in  Is- 
rael— Mahanaim,  or  two  hosts  ;*  or  whether,  soon  after  the 
Lord  appeared  unto  him,  on  his  agani  settling  in  that  land 
after  an  absence  of  many  years,  and  said  unto  him.  Thy 
name  shall  no  more  be  called  Jacob,  but  Israel,  i.  e.,  a  prince 
of  God,^  shall  thy  name  be,  for  as  a  prince  hast  thou  power 
with  God  and  with  men,  and  hast  prevailed  :  whether  he 
called  the  name  of  that  place  Peniel,  i.  e.,  the  face  of  God,X 
because  he  had  there  seen  God  lace  to  face ;  or  bought,  as 
his  first  purchase  in  Canaan,  a  parcel  of  a  field  near  to  She- 
chem,  and  erected  there  an  altar,  and  called  it  El-eloi-israel, 
God  the  God  of  Israel  :^  whether,  on  journeying  to  Succoth, 
he  built  him  a  house  and  made  ^ooihs  for  his  cattle,  he 
therefore  called  the  name  of  the  place  Succoth,  or  booths  ;\\ 
or,  removing  to  Bethel  to  dwell  there,  he  built  an  altar  and 
called  it  El-bethel,  the  God  of  Bethel :  ^  whether  twelve  sons 
were  born  to  Jacob  or  two  to  Joseph,  all  of  whom  were  fa- 
thers of  the  tribes  of  Israel,  the  name  of  each  had  a  signifi- 
cant appellation :  whether  Deborah,  Rebecca's  nurse,  died 
and  was  buried  under  an  oak,  and  the  name  of  it  was  called 
Allon-bachuth,  i.  e.,  the  oak  of  weeping  ;**  or  whether  the  em- 
balmed body  of  Jacob,  as  we  read  in  the  last  chapter  of  Gen- 
esis, was  brought  up  from  Egypt  to  be  buried  in  Canaan  by 
Joseph  and  his  brethren,  accompanied  by  all  the  elders  of  the 
land  of  Egypt,  who  mourned  with  a  great  and  very  sore 
lamentation  for  seven  days  at  the  floor  of  Atad,  and  the  Ca- 
naanites  called  the  name  of  the  place  Abel-mizraim,  or  the 
mourning  of  the  Egyptians  ;\\  each  of  these  events,  besides 
being  committed  to  a  written  record,  had  an  express  and  ap- 
propriate designation  in  the  literal  significancy  of  the  names 
which  still  represent  or  describe  them.  The  sites  of  cities 
in  Israel  marked  the  wanderings,  and  their  names  told  the 
chief  acts  of  Jacob,  the  father  of  the  fathers  of  its  tribes. 
And  while  the  facts  which  these  names  set  forth  are  guaran- 
tied by  their  association  with  the  repeated  renewal  to  Ja- 
cob of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  with  Abraham  and  Isaac, 
and  with  prophecies  hitherto  accomplished,  and  while  it  re- 
mains yet  to  be  seen,  whenever  the  "  set  time''  shall  be 
come,  that  the  Lord  did  give  the  name  of  Israel  unto  Jacob, 
and  that,  at  the  last,  as  at  the  first,  it  is  he  who,  as  a  prince  of 
God,  shall  prevail  with  God  and  with  men,  we  may  look  back 
to  the  days  of  his  pilgrimage  on  earth  as  it  is  recorded  in 
the  Bible,  and  see,  in  the  history  of  Jacob,  how  the  names 
of  persons  and  of  places  were  the  constituted  memorials  or 

*  Gen.  xxxii.,  2.  t  lb.  xxxii.,  28.  %  lb.  xxxii.,  30. 

f)  lb.  xxxiii.,  20.  ||  lb.  xxxiii.,  17.         f  lb.  xxxv.,  7. 

♦*  lb.  XXXV.,  8.  tt  lb.  1.,  11. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  113 

testimonials  of  facts,  in  a  manner  or  to  a  degree  unparallel- 
ed, we  will  say,  in  the  history  of  all  other  men,  from  the 
creation  of  the  world  to  the  present  hour. 

Moses,  a  name  familiar  to  all,  is  not  without  its  significancy, 
but  plainly  tells  us  that  the  leader  and  legislator  of  Israel  was 
once  a  helpless  babe  draivn  out  of  the  waters,*  for  such — 
drawn  out — is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  word.  At  the  time 
when  the  children  of  Israel  increased  abundantly,  and  multi- 
plied, and  waxed  exceeding  great  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
a  new  king  arose  who  knew  not  Joseph,  not  only  were  task- 
masters set  over  them  to  afflict  them  with  their  burdens — as 
a  picture  shows — but  Pharaoh  commanded  that  every  son 
that  was  born  among  them  should  be  cast  into  the  river.  And, 
as  the  name  imports,  one  drawn  out  of  the  river  by  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  and  hence  so  named,  avenged  on  the  King  of  Egypt 
and  his  host  the  wrongs  of  Israel.  Of  his  two  sons,  the  name 
of  the  one  was  Gershom,  i.  e.,  a"5^raw^erhere,"f  and  the  other 
Eliezer,  i.  e.,  my  God  an  kelp,'l  expressly  denote  how  he  was 
a  stranger  in  the  land  of  Midian,  and  how  his  God  was  an 
help  and  delivered  him  out  of  the  hand  of  Pharaoh.  The 
prophets  declared  of  old  that  the  Lord  will  yet  lift  up  a  stand- 
ard for  his  people  Israel,  and  will  help  and  deliver  them  from 
the  hand  of  their  enemies  ;  and  when  the  first  of  the  nations 
that  fought  for  the  first  time  against  the  Israelites  were  dis- 
co.iifited  while  Moses  lifted  up  his  rod,  he  erected  there  an 
altar,  and  called -it  Jehovah-Nissi,  i.  e.,  the  Lord  my  banner.^ 
Though  places  in  the  desert,  Massah,  signifying  temptation; 
Merihah,  chiding  or  strife  ,'||  Taberah,  burning  ,-^  and  Kibroth- 
hattavah,  or  the  graves  of  them  that  lusted,**  became  responsive 
to  the  rtiemorable  scriptural  facts,  that  the  Israelites  tempted 
the  Lord ;  that  they  did  chide  or  strive  with  his  servant  Mo- 
ses ;  that  in  the  fierce  anger  of  the  Lord  many  of  them  were 
burned ;  and  that,  after  they  had  gotten  the  meat  for  which 
they  lusted,  a  great  plague  came  upon  them,  and  turned  the 
place  of  their  repast  into  a  field  of  graves.  After  the  desert, 
from  the  long  wandering  of  the  Israelites,  had  merited  the 
name  it  still  bears,  the  altered  name  of  Joshua,^-\  i.  e.,  the  Sa~ 
viour,  more  worthily  applied  than  that  of  Ptolemy  Soter,  des- 
ignates the  man  who  led  them  into  Canaan,  and  planted  the 
wanderers  in  the  land  of  promise. 

While  there  is  abundant  proof  that  Judea,  though  long  deso- 
late, was  once  a  land  of  vines,  the  name  of  Eschol,  a  cluster  of 
grapes,XX  marked  to  ages,  then  future,  the  brook  or  valley  from 
whence  a  branch  with  a  cluster  of  grapes  was  brought  by 
the  spies  in  token  of  the  fertility  of  the  Land  of  Promise,  so 

*  Exodus  ii.,  10.  t  lb.  ii.,  22.  %  lb.  xviii.,  4. 

§  lb.  xvii.,  15.  II  lb.  xvii.,  7.  %  Num.  xi.,  3, 

**  Num.  xi.,  34.  ft  lb.  xiii.,  16.  tt  lb.  xiii.,  24. 

K  2 


114  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

Boon  as  the  wandering  Israelites  first  approached  its  borders. 
"When  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  was  full,  Homiah*  i.  e., 
utter  destruction^  was  the  new  name  of  the  monumental  city, 
that  needed  no  inscription  to  tell  the  utter  destruction  of  the 
Canaanites  and  their  cities.  Cities  of  Israel  arose  where 
the  pilgrim  Jacob  had  journeyed ;  and  new  cities,  with  new 
names,  were  built  where  those  of  the  Canaanites  had  stood. 
To  this  day,  as  Burckhardt  relates,  and  as  every  traveller 
sees,  "  The  ruins  of  Eleale,  Heshb»n,  Meon,  Medabon,  Dibon, 
Aroer,  still  subsist  to  illustrate  the  history  of  the  Beni-Israel." 
And  while  iheir  ruins  testify  that  the  word  of  prophecy  is  sure^ 
the  same  Hebrew  names  attached  to  each  spot  illustrate  the 
history  of  their  origin.  "  And  the  children  of  Gad  built  Dibon 
and  Aroer,  dfc.  And  the  children  of  Reuben  built  Heshbon, 
and  Elealeh,  and  Nebo,  and  Balmeon  {their  names  being  chan- 
ged), and  gave  other  names  unto  the  cities  which  they  builded. 
And  Jair,  the  son  of  Manasseh,  went  and  took  the  small  toivns 
of  Gilead,  and  called  them  Havoth-jair.  And  Nobah  ivcnt  and 
took  Kenath,  and  the  villages  thereof,  and  called  it  Nobah,  after 
his  own  name.^''^  No  sooner,  as  it  is  recorded,  was  the  Jor- 
dan passed,  twelve  stones  set  up  for  a  memorial,  and  the 
children  of  Israel  circumcised  a  second  time,  and  the  re- 
proach of  Egypt  rolled  away,  as  the  Lord  said  unto  Joshua, 
than,  according  to  the  word,  the  still  well-known  name  of 
Gilgal,  i.  e.,rolling,X  was  given  unto  the  place  of  the  first  en- 
campment in  Judea  of  the  victorious  Israelites,  who  afore- 
time were  despised  bondsmen  in  the  land  of  Egypt.  While 
a  mark  was  set  from  the  beginning  on  the  first  cities  of  Is- 
rael, times  yet  future  are  destined  to  bear  testimony  to  the 
predicted  fact,  that  the  desolations  of  many  generations  shall 
be  raised  up,  and  that  they  shall  all  be  the  cities  of  Israel 
again,  and  for  ever.  And  the  word  has  thus  a  witness  in  it- 
self for  more  than  a  hundred  generations.  That  judgments 
have  fallen  on  the  Jews  and  on  their  land  because  of  their 
iniquities,  all  these  facts  and  all  the  features  of  their  land 
give  proof.  And  that  trouble,  from  the  first,  oame  on  Israel 
when  there  was  an  Achan  in  the  camp,  the  valley  of  Achor, 
i.  e.,  trouble,^  from  that  time  forth  was  an  enduring  memorial. 
And  the  name  of  Bochim,  i.  e.,  weeping,^  designated  the  place 
where  the  children  of  Israel  lifted  up  their  voices  and  wept 
when,  charged  with  disobedience  and  threatened  with  pun- 
ishment, they  were  told  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  whom 
they  had  not  driven  out  would  be  a  sore  in  their  sides  and 
a  snare  unto  their  souls. 

The  place  where  Samson  was  avenged  of  the  Philistines 
afterward  witnessed  by  its  nmme  Lehi,  a  jawbone,^  by  how 

*  Num.  xxi.,  3.    Judges  i.,  17.      t  Num.  xxxii.,  34-42.      X  Josh,  v.,  9. 
(j  Josh,  vii.,  26.  II  Judges  ii.,  1.  if  lb.  xv.,  ft. 


OF    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  115 

slender  an  instrument  deliverance  was  wrought  to  Israel; 
and  Ramath-lehi,  the  casting  away  of  the  jawbone  *  still  more 
significantly  marked  the  place  where  it  was  cast  away. 

Though  the  lips  of  Hannah  spake  not,  while  in  her  heart 
she  prayed  that  she  might  have  a  son,  the  name  of  Samuel 
literally  tells  that  he  was  asked  of  God.] 

Many  days  and  years,  as  the  prophets  foretold  and  be- 
wailed, have  the  daughters  of  Judah  trembled  and  lamented, 
and  the  whole  house  of  Israel  has  long  remained  without 
ephod,  teraphim,  or  sacrifice.  And  the  name  of  Ichabod% — 
there  is  no  glory — shows  that  of  old  there  was  a  tmie  when 
grief  for  the  loss  of  the  ark  of  the  Lord  prevailed  in  the 
heart  of  a  mother  in  Israel  over  that  for  the  death  of  a  hus- 
band, and  would  not  be  allayed  by  the  birth  of  a  son;  to 
whom  her  last  words,  at  his  hrst  breath,  gave  that  memora- 
ble and  melitncholy  name. 

But  Israel's  help  can  come  only  from  Him  who  is  mighty 
to  save  as  to  smite.  And  when  the  man,  whose  name  im- 
ports that  he  was  asked  of  God^  having  gathered  Israel  to- 
gether, saw  their  enemies  again  flee  before  them,  he  wrote 
the  fact  upon  the  spot  where  he  stood  by  erecting  a  pillar 
and  calling  it  by  the  name — ever  endeared  to  every  Christian 
as  to  any  Jew — Ehenezer,  the  stone  of  helpj)  in  grateful  and 
enduring  memorial  that  the  Lord  had  helped  him. 

The  earliest  portion  of  scriptural  history  being  full  of  sig- 
nificant names,  is  thus  corroborated  by  manifold  memorials, 
such  as  no  other  history,  to  an  equal  or  comparable  degree, 
ever  possessed.  The  names  of  persons  and  of  places  need 
but  to  be  translated,  as  in  the  margin  of  the  Bible,  to  an- 
nounce or  intimate  the  facts  from  which  they  originated. 
Each  name  has  its  meaning,  and  was  the  representation  of  a 
fact.  The  land  of  Judea  was  studded  with  memorials  ;  and 
the  most  prominent  events  in  the  early  history  of  the  He- 
brew race  were  told,  generation  after  generation,  by  renown- 
ed names,  of  which  no  Israelite  could  have  been  ignorant, 
and  which  none  could  have  falsely  imposed  in  after  ages  upon 
any  people,  as  those  of  their  patriarchal  forefathers  or  ru-  ■ 
lers,  or  those  of  the  cities  which  they  knew,  or  in  which  they 
themselves  did  dwell.  What  stronger  proofs  of  ancient  facts 
are  to  be  found  than  that  cities,  as  living  witnesses,  should 
have  declared  or  confirmed  them  by  their  very  names  !  But 
if  such  credentials  of  Israelitish  history  be  sought  for,  they 
are  supplied  by  existing  memorials  that  have  been  spread 
throughout  the  world.  Positive  institutions  or  rites  were 
also  ordained  to  be  observed  in  every  generation,  as  express 
memorials  of  the  wonders  which  the  Lord  wrought  in  Israel 

*  Judges  XV.,  17.  1 1  Samuel  i.,  20. 

X  1  Samuel  iv.,  21.  ^  lb.  vii.,  12. 


116  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

His  everlasting  covenant  was  not  without  an  enduring  seal. 
His  work  was  not  left  without  a  witness  on  earth ;  but  or- 
dinances were  established  to  perpetuate  its  remembrance  ; 
even  as  the  spirit  of  prophecy  stamped  his  word  as  divine, 
and  has  given  to  his  judgments  a  visible  manifestation. 

The  novelty  of  the  preceding  topic  (so  far  as  known  to 
the  writer),  as  forming  a  connected  testimony,  though  too 
obvious  in  repeated  instances. to  escape  the  notice  of  com- 
mentators, may  be  a  plea  for  the*  tediousiiess  with  which  it 
has  been  treated  ;  if,  after  all,  it  be  not  too  briefly  touched  on. 
But  the  admirable  and  well-known  treatise  of  Leslie,  to 
which  every  reader  is  here  specially  referred,  may  well  limit, 
to  the  narrowest  bounds,  the  consideration  of  the  evidence 
deduced  from  the  Mosaic  institutions,  the  laws,  ofdinancfes, 
and  memorials  that  were  established  in  Israel.  ^ 

After  the  lapse  of  more  than  two  centuries,  k  mere  holy- 
day  in  England,  without  any  commemorative  institution,  is 
sufficient,  on  the  return  of  the  5th  of  November,  to  recall  the 
fact  of  the  Gunpowder  Plot,  with  as  little  doubt  of  its  re- 
ality as  if  the  day  of  its  last  anniversary  had  been  its  date. 
The  martyrdom  of  Charles  I.  and  the  restoration  of  his  son, 
though  events  which  many  now  slightly  regard,  are  set  forth 
as  facts,  year  by  year  continually,  on  the  return  of  a  par- 
tially recognised  holyday.  Public  customs  readily  become 
the  habit  of  a  people,  and  assume  the  power  of  a  law.  But, 
the  sacred  ordinances  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  alone 
excepted,  there  is  no  parallel  in  our  land,  nor,  in  some  re- 
spects, in  any  other,  to  those  ordinances  which  were  en- 
joined in  the  Mosaic  law,  and  have  been  actually  observed  by 
the  Jews  to  this  day,  or  for  a  period  of  more  than  three 
thousand  years  after  their  institution,  and  nearly  eighteen 
hundred  years  since  that  people  have  been  scattered  among 
all  nations  of  the  earth. 

Circumcision  was  a  token  of  the  covenant  between  the 
Lord  and  Abraham.  My  covenant,  saith  the  Lord,  shall  be  in 
your  jiesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant*  and  each  circumcised 
child  bears  through  life  that  "token  of  the  covenant."  The 
passover  was  instituted  as  commemorative  of  the  deliverance 
of  Israel  from  Egyptian  bondage ;  and  as  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb  was  for  a  token  upon  the  houses  where  they  were,  and 
the  Lord  passed  over  them^  and  the  plague  loas  not  upon  them  to 
destroy  them,]  so  the  lamb  slain  year  by  year  continually  in 
the  families  of  Israel  while  they  remained  in  Judea,  where 
alone  sacrifices  were  to  be  offered  up,  and  all  the  peculiar 
observances  of  the  passover,  were,  for  many  ages,  memori- 
als of  the  great  deliverance  which  God  wrought  for  Israel 
on  that  selfsame  day  on  which  the  passover  was  kept.     The 

*  Gen.  xvii.,  13.  t  Exod.  xii.,  13, 14, 17. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  117 

feast  of  weeks  or  of  pentecost  was  instituted  on  the  giving 
of  the  law.  And  the  third  great  annual  festival  of  the  Jews 
was  the  feast  of  tabernacles,  during  which*  all  that  were 
-  Israelites  born  had  to  dwell  in  booths  seven  days,  that  all 
their  generations  might  know  that  the  Lord  made  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  to  dwell  in  booths  when  he  brought  them  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt. 

Each  of  these  feasts  was  "  a  holy  convocation,"  at  which 
all  the  males  had  to  present  themselves  before  the  Lord. 
Though  the  Jews  observed  not  the  weightier  matters  of  the 
law,  judgment,  mercy,  and  faith,  they  tithed  mint,  anise,  and 
cummin,  and  were  not,  while  a  united  people,  and  are  not 
yet,  though  scattered  among  all  nations,  unobservant  of  the 
festivals  enjoined  in  the  law  of  Moses,  so  far  as  according  to 
that  law  these  can  yet  be  kept.  The  more  punctiliously  that 
they  regarded  the  ritual  ordinances  of  the  law,  while  they 
looked  to  it  for  righteousness,  they  confirmed  the  testimony 
the  more.  And  while  every  man  and  male  child  of  the  He- 
brew race  bears  in  his  body  the  "  token  of  the  covenant" 
which  the  Lord  made  with  Abraham,  every  Jewish  festival 
observed  to  this  day,  after  the  extinction  of  a  hundred  gener- 
ations, is  a  memorial  of  the  fact,  in  confirmation  of  which 
it  was  ordained  as  an  ordinance  for  ever. 

It  is  recorded  that  on  the  selfsame  day  in  which  the 
names  of  Abraham,  Sarah,  and  Isaac  were  given  by  the 
Lord,  circumcision  was  instituted.  And  that  on  the  self- 
same day  in  which  the  Israehtes  were  delivered  from  bond- 
age in  Egypt,  the  passover  was  instituted  and  observed.  And 
could  the  children  of  Israel  in  any  after  age  have  been  per- 
suaded that  they  and  their  forefathers,  from  the  days  of  Abra- 
ham, had  been  circumcised,  if  such  had  not  been  the  facti 
Could  a  nation  at  any  future  period  be  persuaded  that  they 
had  lived  under  laws_  and  observed  institutions  which  they 
had  never  heard  of  "or  known  1  Could  the  passover  and 
other  ordinances  have  been  observed  and  perpetuated  from 
age  to  age,  if  they  had  not  been  instituted  at  the  time,  and 
under  the  circumstances  which  Scripture  records?  Or  how 
•could  they  have  been  instituted  at  the  first,  if  the  facts  in 
which  they  originated,  and  of  which  they  were  commemo- 
rative, had  not  been  seen  and  believed  on  at  the  time  T  Were 
the  Israelites  to  be  told,  if  the  fact  had  not  been  true,  that 
they  had  heard  wailings  for  the  firstborn  in  every  Egyptian 
family  while  the  Lord  passed  over  them  (as  the  name  pass- 
over  indicates),  and  there  was  not  in  Israel  one  mother  who 
wept  for  her  child  ?  Were  they  to  be  told  that  they  had 
passed  through  the  Red  Sea  as  on  dry  grounu,  while  all  the 
host  of  Egypt  was  destroyed,  if  they  had  not  seen  with  their 

*  Lev.  xxiii.,  42,  43. 


118  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

eyes,  as  Moses  appealed  to  them,  the  wonders  which  the 
Lord  had  wrought  in  the  midst  of  them  ?  Did  a  whole  peo- 
ple commemorate,  at  first,  a  national  deliverance  such  as  ne- 
cessarily implied  that  every  individual  experienced  it,  but 
which  never  took  place  ■?  Have  hundreds  of  milhons  of 
Jews,  throughout  successive  generations,  borne  the  token  of 
a  covenant  which  never  existed  ?  "  Was  there  ever  a  book 
of  sham  laws  which  were  not  the  laws  of  the  nation,  palmed 
upon  any  people  since  the  world  began  1  If  not,  with  what 
face  can  Deists  say  this  of  the  books  of  the  law  of  the  Jews'? 
Why  will  they  say  that  of  them  which  they  confess  impos- 
sible among  any  nation  or  any  people  ]"*  The  demonstra 
tion  of  the  fallacy  of  such  allegations  may  best  be  found  in 
the  reductio  ad  ahsurdum,  or  resolving  them  into  an  absurdity. 
It  has  been  alleged  that  the  "  Bible  was  presented  to  us  by 
a  barbarous  and  ignorant  people,  and  was  written  in  an  age 
when  they  were  yet  more  barbarous."  Whence,  then,  came 
the  only  theocracy — the  only  unmixed  theism — the  only  re- 
ligion, may  we  not  say,  on  earth  during  many  ages,  in  which 
the  only  living  and  true  God  was  worshipped,  .and  human 
sacrifices  never  burned  or  bled  1  By  what  rude  hand  of  bar- 
barous man  was  ever  a  pure,  enlightened,  and  comprehen- 
sive moral  code  or  decalogue  written,  like  that  of  the  two 
tables  of  stone  which  Moses  cast  down  and  brake  at  the 
sight  of  an  act  of  idolatry  in  Israel  1  How  would  the  most 
barbarous  among  any  of  its  tribes  have  blasphemed  the  Holy 
One  of  Israel,  and  renounced  their  faith,  by  mingling  in  the 
idolatrous  and  impure  orgies  or  festivals,  and  rites  reputed 
sacred,  wherewith  the  gods  of  the  heathens  were  honoured 
among  the  most  civilized,  as  well  as  savage,  nations  of  the 
earth  ?  Whether  does  a  barbarous  age,  as  respects  religion, 
lay  better  claim  to  the  temple-worship  of  Jerusalem,  or  to 
the  saturnalia  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  their  imitation  still 
throughout  great  part  of  Europe,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
latter  city  ?  If  an  age  or  people  are  to  be  reprobated  as  bar- 
barous in  a  religious  and  moral  sense,  let  Judea,  in  the  days 
of  Joshua  and  the  precepts  of  the  law,  which  every  father 
had  to  teach  unto  his  children,  stand  up  in  judgment  to  con- 
demn Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Ireland,  and  the  authorized 
"commandments  of  the  (Romish)  Church,"  in  which  thou- 
sands are  instructed,  if  instructed  at  all,  in  the  nineteenth 
century.  Who,  in  the  whole  w^orld  and  throughout  many 
ages,  stood  erect  before  an  idol  but  Israelites  alone  ?  What 
other  people  was  ever  stigmatized  by  idolatrous  nations  as 
impious,  because  of  their  hatred  of  idolatry,  and  of  the  truth 
and  purity  of  their  creed,  as  all  science  confirms,  and  all  na- 
ture ratifies  it,  "  The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord,  besides  whom 

*  Leslie's  Short  Method  with  the  Deists. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  119 

there  is  no  GodV^  Of  what  other  people  does  any  ancient 
geographer  or  historian  speak  as  Strabo  speaks  of  the  ex- 
clusive purity  of  the  worship  practised  by  Moses  and  his  fol- 
lowers, who  went  forth  from  Egypt  to  establish  their  faith 
in  Canaan?  What  other  people  have  ever  been  set  apart 
from  the  nations  as  the  custodiaries  of  the  law,  the  testi- 
mony, and  the  oraclesof  truth,  the  writings  of  those  prophets, 
before  whose  word  the  mightiest  nations  have  disappeared 
and  the  greatest  cities  have  fallen  \  And  in  what  other  book, 
confirmed  by  past  history  and  existing  facts  as  the  word  of 
the  living  God,  could  the  promise  of  a  Messiah  have  been 
given,  but  in  the  Bible  alone  % 

Do  our  adversaries  twit  us  with  the  incredibility  of  the 
"  arbitrary  choice  of  one  people  as  the  favourites  of  Heaven," 
we  bid  them  read  the  history  of  that  people  in  ages  past,  and 
look  to  them  as  they  are,  and  say  if  the  God  of  Israel  be  a 
respecter  of  persons.  And  have  they  never  heard  or  read 
that,  before  Abraham  was  circumcised  or  Isaac  was  born, 
the  promise  was  given  that  in  him  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  shall  be  blessed  ?  And  have  other  nations  to  complain 
that  Abraham's  seed  was  set  apart  from  the  beginning  to  be 
a  blessing  to  them  all  1  If  a  wild  olive-tree  be  grafted  in 
among  the  natural  branches,  and  partake  of  the  root  and  fat- 
ness of  the  good  olive-tree,  has  it  reason  to  murmur  against 
the  branches  that  have  been  broken  off  that  it  might  be  graft 
ed  in  ?  Was  Jacob  "  two  flocks"  on  returning  to  Jordan, 
which  he  had  passed  with  his  staff  in  his  hand  \  It  was  be- 
cause the  Lord  had  prospered  him,  though  Laban  had  dealt 
deceitfully  with  him,  and  had  changed  his  wages  ten  times. 
Was  Canaan  the  lot  of  the  inheritance  of  the  Israelites,  and 
were  its  inhabitants  rooted  out  before  them  I  It  was  not  till 
the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  was  full ;  and  even  then  a  guilty 
Achan  in  the  camp  paralyzed  the  strength  and  stayed  the 
victories  of  Israel.  Was  the  youngest  son  of  Jesse,  while 
a  pious  shepherd  in  Bethlehem,  chosen,  as  a  man  after  God's 
own  heart,  to  be  king  over  Israel  1  Once  was  he  dispos- 
sessed of  his  throne,  and  became  a  wanderer  in  his  king 
dom  ;  and,  again,  destruction  before  his  enemies,  or  the  fam 
ine,  or  the  pestilence,  was  the  only  choice  that  was  givei: 
him,  because  of  his  iniquity.  Judgments  came  down  upon 
the  ©hosen  of  the  Lord  for  deeds  such  as  those  for  which 
the  gods  of  the  heathen  were  glorified.  And  here,  as  in  all 
things  else,  it  is  manifest  that  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  is  the 
Lord. 

But  even  when  Jerusalem  was  destroyed,  and  the  land  smit' 
ten  with  a  curse,  and  the  prince  of  the  people,  who,  accord 
ing  to  the  same  sure  word  of  prophecy,  did  come  and  tri 
umph  over  the  ruin  of  the  Jewish  dispensation,  the  testimony 
was  preserved  while  many  prophecies  were  fulfilled  ;  the 


120  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

sacred  memorials  of  Israelitish  history,  and  symbols  of  a 
preached  gospel,  and  of  a  light  that  alone  could  enlighten  the 
nations,  were  taken  from  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  to  be  car- 
ried in  procession  before  the  conqueror,  and  were  sculptured 
in  a  yet  enduring  testimony  on  the  Arch  of  Titus. 


SECTION  n 

The  subject  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Old  Testament  Scrip 
tures  might  suffice  to  fill  volumes  with  superabundant  illus- 
trations. But  in  closing  this  brief  survey — composed  of  frag- 
ments—which may  serve  to  show  the  fulness  of  tlie  matter, 
as  a  single  cluster  of  grapes  shows  the  goodhness  of  the  land, 
it  may  not  be  unprofitable  to  some  that  we  touch  on  another 
topic,  to  which  our  adversaries  lead  us  in  search  of  new  tes- 
timonials of  the  truths  which  they  assail ;  and  in  respect  to 
which,  instead  of  the  barrenness  ihey  look  for,  they  may  find, 
on  the  very  spot,  the  richness  of  the  earth  and  the  dew  of 
heaven  from  above,  and  plants  which  the  Lord's  right  hand 
alone  could  have  planted. 

Skeptics,  like  Hume,  were  wont,  in  former  days,  to  hold 
in  derision  the  scriptural  record  of  creation  as  necessarily 
fictitious,  the  event  described  being  absolutely  and  incontest- 
ably  beyond  the  reach  of  human  experience  or  observation, 
as  any  event  could  possibly  or  conceivably  be.  But  facts,  it 
seems,  are  now  resorted  to ;  and  in  this  philosophical  age, 
which  has  itself  given  birth  to  ephemeral  cosmogonies  that 
are  already  forgotten,  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation, 
after  having  survived  so  long,  must  needs  be  disproved  and 
dissipated  by  geological  discoveries ! 

''  Some  drill  and  bore 
The  earth,  and  fronn  the  strata  there 
Extract  a  register  by  which  we  learn 
That  he  who  made  it,  and  revealed  its  date 
Td  Moses,  was  mistaken  in  its  age." 

COWPER. 

The  satire  may  be  just,  though  some  may  not  own  it  as 
philosophical.  But,  since  the  days  of  Cowper,  the  sciwce 
of  geology,  truly  such,  has  risen  from  infancy  with  a  rapidity 
which  promises  an  early  manhood.  And  when  of  full  age, 
its  full  testimony  may  be  given.  So  soon  as  the  existence 
of  fossil  bones  could  no  longer  be  denied,  skeptics,  who  be- 
fore derided  tlieir  existence,  then  sought  their  aid,  and  claimed 
geology  as  their  own.  And  now,  after  all  its  advancement — 
as  111'?  writer  lately  witnessed  in  the  midst  of  the  fossil  re- 
mains collected  by  Cuvior — a  youthful  sage  shakes  his  head 


AI^  CIS   ©3'  -TUTCU'. 

I'uijiifs  paitt?  restored . 


VJUK.H'VHi'i.a  Xr    ]iUt)'l 


'/^i^  of  THF 


^  OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  121 

at  the  sight  of  a  huge  bone  disentombed  from  an  old  world, 
and,  when  asked  how  the  fact  accords  with  the  narrative  of 
Moses,  answers  with  a  sneer.  But  the  Mosaic  account  in- 
cludes the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth,  and  our 
appeal  from  a  false  verdict  or  a  senseless  sneer  may  be  made 
alike  to  them  both. 

The  days  of  astrology,  which  was  suited  to  monks  and 
akin  to  legendary  tales,  are  past,  and  tiiose  of  astronomy  are 
come,  in  which  the  velocity  of  light  is  measured,  and  the  mo- 
tions of  satellites,  unseen  by  the  naked  eye,  are  marked  to 
a  moment,  as  accurately  as  the  eclipses  of  the  sun  or  of  the 
moon.  And  the  telescope  in  the  hands  of  the  Herschels  has 
subjected  to  the  inspection  of  man  new  firmaments  of  stars, 
and  many  hundreds  of  nebulcB,  or  luminous  masses  of  mat- 
ter, spread  over  the  illimitable  void  of  space  in  avast  variety 
of  forms,  compared  to  which  our  solar  sy.-stem  is  scarcely  a 
point,  and  the  starry  heavens,  of  which  that  is  a  unit,  is  but 
one  of  the  unnumbered  works  of  God.  In  their  multitudin- 
ous, varied,  and  progressive  forms,  they  seem  to  show  that 
it  may  yet  be  said  by  Him  whose  name  is  the  Word  of  God, 
"  My  Father  worketh  hitherto  and  I  work.  In  n>y  Father's 
house  there  are  many  mansions.  And  places  are  preparing 
still." 

In  ages  comparatively  not  remote,  men,  in  their  fancy, 
sought  for  an  Atlas,  an  elephant,  or  a  tortoise  on  which  to 
rest  the  earth ;  but  the  Bible,  in  the  first  book,  perhaps,  that 
was  ever  written,  declared  that  the  Lord  stretched  out  the 
north  over  the  empty  space,  and  hangeth  the  earth  upon  no- 
thing.* Natural  philosophy  has  newly  discovered  that  "  there 
is  a  wisdom  which  presides  over  the  least  as  well  as  the 
greatest  things,  and  an  omniscience  which  not  only  numbers 
and  names  The  stars,  but  even  the  atoms  that  compose  them." 
But  from  the  beginning  it  was  declared  in  the  word  of  God, 
that  "  he  maketh  the  weight  for  the  winds,  and  weigheth  the 
waters  by  measure."  And  secrets  of  naiure,  as  well  as  the 
destiny  of  nations,  were  known  to  the  prophets  of  a  people 
despised  as  barbarous.  "  Who  hath  measured  the  waters  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,  and  meted  out  heaven  with  the  span, 
and  comprehended  the  dust  of  the  earth  in  a  measure,  and 
weighed  the  mountains  in  scales,  and  the  hills  in  a  balance  ? 
Who  hath  directed  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  or,  being  his  coun- 
sellor, hath  taught  him  1  Behold,  the  nations  are  as  a  drop 
of  a  bucket,  and  are  counted  as  the  small  dust  of  the  bal- 
ance. All  nations  before  him  are  as  nothing,  and  they  are 
counted  to  him  less  than  nothing,  and  vanity.  Have  ye  not 
known  1  have  ye  not  heard  1  hath  it  not  been  iold  you  from 
the  beginning  ]  have  ye  not  understood/rom  the  foundations  of 

*  Job  x.xxvi.,  7. 
I. 


122  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

the  earth  ?  It  is  he  that  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  earth, 
and  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  as  grasshoppers ;  that  stretch- 
eth  out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain,  and  spreadeth  them  out  as 
a  tent  to  dwell  in ;  that  bringeth  the  princes  to  nothing .  he 
inaketh  the  judges  of  the  earth  as  vanity.  He  shall  blow 
upon  them,  and  they  shall  wither,  and  the  whirlwind  shall 
take  them  away  as  stubble.  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and 
behold  who  hath  created  these  things,  that  bringeth  out  their 
host  by  number ;  he  calleth  them  all  by  names,  by  the  great- 
ness of  his  miglit,  for  he  is  strong  in  power  ;  not  one  fail- 
eth.*  By  his  Spirit  he  hath  garnished  the  heavens.  Lo,  these 
are  parts  of  his  ways ;  but  how  little  a  portion  is  heard  of 
him  I  but  the  thunder  of  his  power  who  can  understand  I"! 
"Praise  ye  him,  sun  and  moon  ;  praise  him,  all  ye  "stars  of 
light ;  Praise  him,  yc  heavens  of  heavens,  and  ye  waters  that 
be  above  the  heavens.  Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the  Lord ; 
for  he  commanded,  and  they  were  created."| 

Far  as  the  telescope  can  reach,  the  word  of  the  Lord,  in 
describing  the  power  and  perfections  of  Jehovah,  goes  before 
it,  and  describes  what  it  cannot  discern.  And  high  as  history 
can  ascend,  the  Bible  rises  higher,  till  it  gives  men  to  under- 
stand the  order  in  which  God  laid  the  foundations  of  the 
earth.  And  having  seen  by  inspecting  ruins,  and  heard  by 
interrogating  them,  how  each  is  a  manifestation  of  the  truth 
of  his  word,  and  answers  to  its  prophetic  text,  and  shows 
that  he  brings  princes  to  nothing,  and  that  kingdoms  before 
his  word  are  as  chaff  before  the  whirlwind,  nmy  we  not  also 
lift  up  our  eyes  and  see,  and  *'  interrogate  the  heavens,"  and 
ask  whether  the  analogy  of  nature  does  not  give  "  concur- 
ring testimony"  to  that  which  hath  been  told  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  which,  from  the  record  put  into  our  h^ds,  might 
have  been  understood  from  t  he  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  And 
beholding  whai  philosophers,  worthy  of  the  name,  have  ex- 
hibited to  our  sight,  and  what  the  telescope  sets  forth  to  the 
view  of  every  observer,  may  not  plate  after  plate  be  set  par- 
allel with  the  first  words  of  the  fJible,  as  verse  after  verse  is 
descriptive  of  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the 
sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  which  we  see,  and  the  globe 
which  we  inhabit  ]  And  may  we  not  see  whether  those  very 
things  are  not  now  visibly  true  of  oiher  firmaments  which  the 
Bible  reveals  concerning  the  formation  of  our  ownl 

In  treating  this  theme  in  the  briefest  manner,  the  reader  is 
specially  referred  to  the  Philosophical  Transactions,  partic- 
ularly for  the  years  1811,  1814,  1828,  and  1833,  and  to  Nich- 
oVs  Architecture  of  the  Heavens,  to  which  work  the  writer  is 
indebted  for  the  facts  and  discoveries  which  supply  the  illus- 
trations, as  well  as  for  the  plates.     The  design  of  the  philo- 

*  Isa.  xl,  12-26.  t  Job  xxvi.,  13, 14.  t  Psal.  cxlviii.,  3-5. 


OF    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  123 

sophical  writers  was  purely  scientific.  And  their  testimony 
to  the  facts,  which  any  one  may  not  only  examine,  but  witness, 
is  therefore  divested  of  all  suspicion  of  having  been  given 
with  any  design  of  illustrating  the  Mosaic  record  of  the  cre- 
ation, to  which  they  have  not  hitherto  made  any  reference 
or  allusion.  The  plates  alone,  without  any  comment,  illus- 
trate the  respective  texts.  But  a  few  notes,  explanatory  of 
these  modern  discoveries,  may  be  affixed,  which  may  farther 
tend  to  show  that  astronomers,  however  unconsciously,  are 
privileged  to  illustrate  the  word  of  God,  as  well  as  to  lay 
open  to  view,  in  the  most  extended  sphere,  the  wonders 
of  creation.  And  their  discoveries,  or  the  facts  which  they 
have  disclosed  with  wonderful  minuteness  and  unwearied  in- 
dustry, need  only  to  be  simply  appropriated  and  applied  in 
order  to  form  illustrations  of  the.  inspiration  of  Scripture 
scarcely  less  conclusive  or  complete  than  those  which  geog- 
raphers have  supplied. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  towards  the  close  of  last 
century,  while  infidelity  was  rampant  and  phantasms  abound- 
ed, travellers  were  gleaning  facts  in  Palestine  and  other 
countries  ;  geologists  raising  them  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth ;  and  astronomers  bringing  them  down  from  heaven ; 
and  truth  was  thus  preparing  its  avengements  on  error. 
Nearly  fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  elder  Herschel  be- 
gan his  observations  and  discoveries,  which  the  scientific 
world  has  hitherto  chiefly  monopolized,  and  which  Dr.  Nichol 
has  newly  presented  to  the  public  in  a  popular,  interesting, 
and  accessible  form.  The  subject  itself  is  thus  not  a  novel 
one.  In  commencing  his  admirable  treatise,*  as  it  may  be 
termed,  detailing  his  astronomical  observations  relating  to 
the  construction  of  the  heavens,  the  purpose  of  which  was 
to  throw  new  light  upon  the  organization  of  the  celestial  bod- 
ies, Sir  William  Herschel  states  that  a  knowledge  of  the 
construction  of  the  heavens  had  always  been  the  ultimate  object 
of  his  observations,  in  which  he  had  been  /or  many  years  en- 
gaged in  applying  his  forty,  twenty,  and  large  ten  feet  tele- 
scopes, of  great  space-penetrating  power.  And  most  ably 
was  his  purpose  fulfilled  of '•  arranging  these  objects,"  which 
by  such  telescopes  he  discovered,  "  in  a  certain  successive 
regular  order,"  that  they  might  be  viewed  in  a  new  light. 
That  light  is  now  clear  where  previously  all  was  compara- 
tively, if  not  absolutely,  dark  and  unknown.  Sir  John  Her- 
schel, with  hereditary  talent  nnd  zeal,  has  finished  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  what  his  illustrious  father  began.  Nor 
do  their  names  stand  alone  as  surveyors  of  the  heavens. 
The  Brisbane  observatory  was  not  inactive  in  the  southern 
hemisphere,  whither  Sir  John  Herschel  went  to  complete  his 

*  Philosophical  Trans.,  1811. 


124  THE    ANTIQUITY    AND    AUTHENTICITY 

observations,  after  having  presented  the  scientific  world  with 
a  detailed  list  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  nebulae  and  clus- 
ters of  stars. 

None  the  least  versant  in  the  rudiments  of  astronomy 
can  doubt  that  our  sun  ranks  in  the  order  of  the  stars.  And 
as  a  knowledge  of  the  construction  of  the  heavens^  from  num- 
berless observations  of  existing  objects,  has  been  the  ulti- 
mate purpose  to  which  astronomers  have  so  successfully  de- 
voted mjny  years,  ample  means  are* prepared  for  instiluting 
a  comparison  between  the  result  of  their  discoveries  and  the 
only  record  of  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth  to 
which  a  philosopher  or  any  man  of  sense  would  now  attach 
a  shadow  of  credibiliiy. 

By  assorting,  in  thirty-four  distinct  articles,  those-  astro- 
nomical objects  to  which.his  ob.servations  were  devoted.  Sir 
William  clearly  showed  "  the  most  gradual  affinity  between 
the  individuals  contained  in  any  one  class  with  those  con- 
tained in  that  which  precedes  and  that  which  follows  it,"  so 
that  from  thence  their  "  nature  and  construction''''  may  be  suc- 
cessively seen,  from  the  most  diflTused  nebulosity,  occupying 
a  space  of  inconceivable  extent,  to  a  luminous  point  or  star. 
"  It  will  be  found,"  as  he  states,  "  that  those  contained  in  one 
article  are  so  closely  allied  to  those  in  the  next,  that  there 
is,  perhaps,  not  so  much  difference,  if  I  may  use  the  compari- 
son, as  there  would  be  in  an  annual  description  of  the  hu- 
man figure,  were  it  given  from  the  birth  of  a  child  till  he 
comes  to  be  a  man  in  his  prime."* 

Such  being  the  result  of  astronomical  observations,  may  we 
not  compare  the  account  of  the  construction  of  the  heavens, 
or  that  which  is  discovered  and  seen  eighteen  centuries  af- 
ter the  Christian  era,  with  that  which  was  written  fifteen  cen- 
turies before  it  1  Can  any  analogy  be  traced,  or  is  any  simi- 
larity apparent,  on  comparing  the  "  construction  of  the  heav- 
ens," as  described  by  Herschel,  and  the  creation  of  the  heav- 
ens, as  recorded  by  Moses  1  Is  there  any  analogy,  from  first 
to  last,  between  the  respective  accounts  of  the  same  sub- 
ject ?  And  as  skeptics  have  condemned  the  Mosaic  account, 
may  not  the  "  observations  of  the  heavens"  confirm  it  to  our 
sight  1 

The^r*^  of  the  articles  with  which  Herschel  begins  his 
classification  of  astronomical  objects,  as  exhibiting  the  rudest 
or  first  form  in  which  matter  is  to  be  seen,  is  entitled,  "  Of 
extensive  diff'used  Nebulosity." 

And  the  first  words  of  the  Bible  are, 

In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earfh. 
And  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void;  and  darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep :  And  the  Spirit  of  God  moved 

*  Philosoph.  Trans,  for  1811,  p.  271. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  125 

npon  the  face  of  the  waters.     And  God  said,  Let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  hght,  Gen.  i.,  1-3.     (See  plate  I.) 

"  In  the  first  and  rudest  state,  the  nebulous  matter  is  char- 
acterized by  great  diffusion.  The  milky  light  is  spread  over 
a  large  space  so  equably,  that  scarcely  3.ny  peculiarity  of  con- 
stitution or  arrangement  can  be  perceived.  The  perfectly 
chaotic  modification  here  illustrated  is  perhaps  the  nearest 
to  the  original  state  of  this  matter  of  anything  now  remain- 
ing in  the  firmament."*  "  By  nebulous  matter,"  says  Sir  W. 
Herschel,  "  I  mean  to  denote  that  substance,  or,  rather,  those 
substances  which  give  out  light,  whatever  may  be  their  na- 
ture, or  of  whatever  different  forms  they  may  be  possessed."! 

After  giving  a  table  of  fifty-two  extensive  nebulosities, 
^vith  an  account  of  each,  he  remarks  that,  "  when  these  ob- 
servations are  examined  with  a  view  to  improve  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  construction  of  the  heavens,  we  see,  in  the  first 
place,  that  extensive  diffused  nebulosity  is  exceedingly  great 
indeed ;  for  the  account  of  it,  as  stated  in  the  table,  is  151.7 
square  degrees ;  but  this,  it  must  be  remembered,  gives  us 
by  no  means  the  real  limit  of  it,  neither  in  the  parallel  nor 
in  the  meridian ;  moreover,  the  dimensions  in  the  table  give 
only  its  superficial  extent ;  the  depth  may  be  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  telescopes ;  and  it  will  be  evident  that  the 
abundance  of  nebulous  matter  diffused  through  such  an  ex- 
pansion of  the  heavens  must  exceed  all  imagination. "J 
These  nebulosities,  like  many  nebulae,  are  of  an  "  irregular 
figure"  or  "  unshapen  masses  of  nebulous  matter."  The  neb- 
ulous matter  is  compared  by  Herschel  to  a  "  curdling  liquid;''"' 
and  it  is  described  as  a  "  shining  fluid,"  "a  nebulous  fluid 
shining  of  itself;"^  and  the  first,  or  incipient  form  in  which  it 
is  described,  as  in  plate  1,  and  "in  all  the  other  numbers  re- 
ferred to,"  is  that  of  a  "diff'used  milky  nebulosity.  "|| 

Such  is  "  the  first  and  rudest  state"  in  which  matter  is 
seen  by  telescopes  of  the  highest  power.  In  the  beginning 
(the  period  is  wholly  undefined)  God  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth.  And  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void,  like  "  void^ 
formless,  and  diffused'"'  nebulous  matter  now.  Darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep.  The  depth  of  the  nebulosities  may 
be  far  beyond  the  reach  of  our  telescopes.  "  The  breadth 
and  DEPTH  of  the  nebulous  matter  are  probably  not  very  dif- 
ferent." It  is  described  as  fluid,  or  liquid,  or  vaporous,  not 
in  a  consolidated  form  :  And  it  was  on  the  face  of  the  wa- 
ters that  the  Spirit  moved,  even  as  these,  not  then  gathered 

*  Nichol's  Architecture  of  the  Heavens,  p.  133. 

t  Philos.  Trans.,  181 1.  p.  277.  %  Ibid.,  p.  275. 

i)  "  The  space  filled  by  a  nebula  of  only  10'  in  diameter,  at  tlie  distance 
of  a  star  of  the  eighth  magnitude,  would  exceed  the  vast  dimensions  of 
our  sun  at  least  2,208,600,000,000,000,000  times." 

U  Philosophical  Transactions,  1811,  p.  277. 
L2 


126  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

together,  were  void  or  vaporous.  And  it  may  be  remarked 
that,  as  marking  things  of  the  same  nature  by  the  same 
name,  a  scripture  connexion  or  affinity  may  be  traced  be- 
tween the  original  matter  from  which  the  earth  was  formed, 
and  elements  described  as  subsisting  still;  for;  in  the  enu- 
meration of  tlie  works  of  God  that  are  above  all  things  on 
the  earth,  are  classed  the  stars  and  the  heaven  of  heavens, 
and  the  waters*  which  are  above  th§  heavens,  which  are  in- 
voked to  praise  the  Lord,  for  he  commanded  and  they  were 
created. t  The  nebulous  fluid  is  evidently  "luminous"  or 
"  shining,"  for  hsrht  alone  renders  it  visible  to  us  :  and  while 
the  earth  whs  without  form  and  void,  God  said,  Let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  light. 

And  God  saw  the  light  that  it  ivas  good :  and  God  divided  the 
light  from  the  darkness,  v.  4. 

While  extensive  diffused  nebulosities  are  numerous,  with- 
out form  and  void^  in  many  of  them  some  parts  appear  more 
luminous  than  others ;  the  nebulous  matter,  according  to  Sir 
W.  Herschel,  and  as  its  appearances  indicate,  becomes  con- 
densed, or  less  diffuse  or  void,  and  the  light,  as  may  be  seen, 
is  divided  from  the  darkness.  The  object,  occupying  an 
immensity  of  space,  which  is  represented  in  plate  i,  is  de- 
scribed as  an  "extremely  faint  branching  nebulosity;  its 
whiteness  is  entirely  of  the  milky  kind,  and  it  is  brighter  in 
three  or  four  places  than  in  the  rest."|  in  the  "diffused 
nebulous  matter,"  which  forms  the  great  nebula  in  Orion 
(p.  1,  f.  2),  "  we  may  see,  in  one  and  the  same  object,  both 
the  brightest  and  faintest  appearance  of  nebulosities  that 
can  be  seen  anywhere'"^  in  the  northern  hennsphere.  It  is 
visible  to  the  naked  eye.  "  The  more  that  the  power  of  the 
telescope  is  increased,  the  more  diffuse  and  strange  the  ob- 
ject, and  the  illumination  (light)  is  extremely  unequal  and 
irregular."  It  is  compared  by  Sir  John  Herschel  to  "a  cur- 
dling liquid,"  which  is  not  an  inapt  description  of  water  with- 
out form  and  void ;  or  "  to  the  breaking  up  of  a  mackarel 
sky,  when  the  clouds  of  which  it  consists  begin  to  assume  a 
cirrous  appearance,  and  is  not  very  unlike  the  mottling  of 
the  sun's  disk,  the  intervals  being  darker;'''  not  inapt  illustra- 
tions of  the  light  divided  or  dividing  from  the  darkness.  It 
is  a  "  chaotic"  mass,  "  void,  formless,  and  diffuse. "||  In  large 
portions  of  nebulosities  the  light  in  some  places  is  compar- 
atively extremely  faint,  while  in  other  parts  it  shines  with 

*  Nebula,  or  nebulous  matter,  i.  e.,  cloud  or  cloudy,  may  be  said  to  be 
identified  with  waters,  designated  as  without  form  and  void.  Water  in  a 
void  or  diffused  state  is  vapour  or  cloud  ;  hereby  denoting  a  harmony,  even 
of  expression,  between  the  term  which  designates  a  state  of  matter,  for 
which,  as  astronomers  have  affirmed,  human  language  has  no  proper 
name. 

f  Ps.  cxlviii,,  3-.5.  t  Ph.  Trans,  for  1811,  p.  273,  295. 

<i  Ibid.,  320.  II  Nichol,  p.  123-126. 


UBI7BESIT71 


OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.     127 

increasing  brightness,  while  in  the  intervening  spaces  it  is 
scarcely,  if  at  all,  to  be  discerned.  Where  all  was  previously 
luminous,  one  part  becomes  brighter  as  another  becomes 
dark,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  appearances  which  nebu- 
losities and  nebulae  in  general  present.  The  rudest  form  in 
which  matter  is  to  be  seen  is  that  of  a  diffused  shining  nebu- 
losity ;  and  the  first  varied  appearance  is  that  of  the  lumin- 
ous matter  assuming  a  more  condensed  form,  and  occupying 
a  space  partly  brighter  and  partly  dark.  And  God  divided  the 
light  fr 01  a  the  darkness. 

And  God  called  the  light  day,  and  the  darkness  he  called  night. 
And  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  first  day  ;  or,  literally, 
and  there  was  evening,  and  there  ivas  morning  the  first  day  (or 
one  day),  v.  4,  5". 

In  judging  of  the  scriptural  record  of  creation,  we  cannot 
rightly  apply  any  other  measure  to  the  days— literally,  as  the 
term  is  thus  defined,  days — of  creation,  than  that  which  alone 
is  given  in  the  record  itself.  According  to  this  express  def- 
inition, the  light  was  called  day.  However  long  or  however 
short  was  the  duration  of  the  light,  so  long  or  so  short  was 
the  day;  no  other  measure  is  given  of  its  duration,  which 
was  determined  iis  it  was  defined  by  that  of  the  light  alone. 
Till  that  ceased  the  evening  did  not  come,  nor  was  the  day 
at  an  end.  God  called  the  light  day,  and  the  darkness  he  call- 
ed night.  Then,  as  now,  the  duration  of  the  light  constituted 
the  day.  We  are  not  told  that  the  continuance  of  the  light, 
so  soon  as  it  was  called  into  existence,  was  dependant  on 
any  measure  of  time,  or  that  the  ligiit  disappeared  again  from 
the  face  of  the  deep,  according  to  the  measurement  of  the 
time  by  which  a  yet  unformed  globe  would  fimally  revolve 
round  its  axis  :  but  the  Scrtptural  definition  expressly  bears 
that  the  light  itself  was  called  day ;  and  neither  the  first  day 
nor  any  other  did  end  till  the  light  gave  place  to  darkness 
and  the  evening  came.  For  not  only  was  the  light  called 
day,  and  the  darkness  called  night,  but,  as  repeated  in  re- 
spect to  each  succession  of  them  both,  there  ivas  evening  and 
there  teas  morning  the  first  day  (or  one  day).  Time,  as  known 
by  any  other  measure,  had,  we  may  say,  no  existence  then. 
The  days  of  creation,  as  defined,  owned  no  relation  but  to 
the  succession  of  light  and  darkness,  to  which  they  owed 
their  being  and  their  name.  And  the  duration  of  the  light 
(whether  long  or  short)  determined,  as  it  defined,  that  of  the 
day.*    The  term,  in  the  original,  sometimes  signifies  "  time 

*  Neither  adding  to  the  word  of  God  nor  taking  from  it,  we  have  to  re- 
gard solely  ihat  which  is  written.  Doubts  and  difficulties  have  without  cause 
been  started  on  this  subject,  by  unconsciously  adding  to  the  word,  or  in- 
cluding a  presumed  measure  of  time  in  the  definition  of  the  days  of  crea- 
tion, instead  of  limiting  it,  as  in  the  scripture  record,  to  the  light  alone,  by 
the  uninterrupted  continuance  of  which,  totally  irrespective  and  exciusive 


128  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

generally,"  as  noted  by  Gesenius ;  and,  like  that  which  is 
translated  waters,  and  is  immediately  derived  from  ihe  same 
root,  denotes,  according  to  Parkhurst,  tumult  or  tumultuous 
motion,  to  which  these  new  discoveries  give  as  high  a  signif- 

of  any  other  period  than  that  of  its  duration  alone  as  succeeded  by  dark- 
ness, the  day  itself  was  designated  and  its  length  determined.  On  the  so- 
lution of  the  question  how  long  lasted  the  li§ht,  all  knowledge  of  the  length 
of  the  day  is  made  absolutely  dependant.  According  to  this  scriptural 
definition,  the  length  of  the  day  varies  in  every  planet ;  and  within  the  polar 
circles  of  our  own  globe,  light  is  succeeded  by  darkness  only  once  in  a  year. 
Till  the  fourth  day  of  creation,  i.  c.,till  the  fourth  returning  period  of  cor>- 
tinuous  light,  the  sun  itself  was  not  formed  into  a  condensed  and  distinct 
luminary.  We  see,  in  fact,  that  light  exists  in  the  heavens  independent  of 
th(5  sun  ;  and  phosphorescent,  igneous,  and  other  bodies,  or  chymical  com- 
binations, give  multiplied  proofs  on  earth  of  the  sajne  truth.  And  the 
duration  of  the  primary  cycles  of  the  light  and  darkness  was  regulated  by 
a  measure  unknown,  because  unrevealed  to  man.  After  the  fourth  day 
(the  light  being  uniformly  called  day),  till  the  work  of  creation  was  finished, 
and  the  present  order  of  nature  perfected,  the  successive  periods  of  light  or 
of  the  day  are  necessarily  of  unknown  duration.  The  rotation  of  the  earth 
on  its  axis  in  twenty-four  hours  now;  determines  the  length  of  the  light  and 
darkness,  and,  consequently,  of  the  dav.  But  can  it  be  said  that  that  was 
always  the  same  as  it  is  now  ?  Or,  rather,  does  not  the  Nebular  Hypothe- 
sis (m  strictest  accordance  with  the  scriptural  record  of  the  formation  of 
the  earth,  from  waters  without  form,  and  void)  seem  to  demonstrate  that  the 
rotation  of  each  planet,  like  that  of  the  sun,  began  with  a  slow  and  almost 
imperceptible  motion,  which  gradually  increased  as  the  globe  consolidated? 
And  was  there  not  thus  a  time  when,  in  the  progress  of  its  "  augmenting 
velocity,"  the  rotation  of  the  earth  on  its  axis  occupied  the  same  period  as  its 
revolution  m  its  orbit  ?  Such,  in  fact,  is  the  actual  motion  of  the  moon.  And 
according  to  the  Nebular  Theory,  and  because  of  this  once  increasing  ro- 
tary motion,  by  which  the  waters  or  nebulous  fluid  were  separated  from 
each  central  condensing  mass,  the  nrroon  bears  the  same  relative  origin  to 
the  earth  that  the  planets  bear  to  the  sun.— (See  Dr.  Nichol's  Architecture 
of  the  Heavens,  p.  173.)  "  Such  globes  [after  being  divided  from  the  cen- 
tral mass  and  gathered  together  into  one  place]  would  likewise  invariably  fol- 
low the  law  of  rotation,  or  necessarily  rotate  on  thiir  axis  in  the  direction  of 
their  revolutions ;  and  every  one  of  the  secondary  masses  might,  during  the 
phenomena  of  its  subsequent  condensation  and  augmenting  velocity  of  ro- 
tation, throw  off  rings  corresponding  m  all  respects  to  the  rings  around  the 
primary  nucleus ;  these  condensing  in  their  turn,  and,  according  to  the  fore- 
going laws,  into  solid  annuli  and  satellites,  or  moons."— (Ibid.)  Is  it  not 
therefore  supposable,  or,  rather,  may  it  not  be  inferred,  that  there  was  a 
time  when,  in  respect  to  its  motions,  the  earth  revolved  round  the  sun  as 
the  moon  now  revolves  round  the  earth,  or  that  a  similarity  of  origin  may 
have  been  accompanied  by  similar  relative  motions  ?  And  if  the  rotation 
of  the  earth  on  its  axis  ever  occupied  as  much  time  as  its  revolution  in  its 
orbit,  whatever  the  duration  of  that  time,  it  is  manifest  that,  in  such  a  case, 
of  wiiich  there  is  so  direct  and  visible  an  analogy  in  the  motions  of  the 
moon,  which  thus  uniformly  pre.^ents  one  side  to  the  earth,  day,  as  defined 
in  scripture,  would  have  signified  a  period  without  any  apparent  end.  Who- 
ever can  read  the  aljihabet  of  astronomical  science  must  perceive  that  un- 
interrupted light  shone  over  one  half  of  the  earth,  while  the  other  was  un- 
visited  by  a  ray  of  the  sun  so  long  as  this  order  was  unaltered  ;  nor  was  a 
shade  of  evening  seen,  nor  could  the  day  come  to  a  close,  until  the  laws  of 
nature,  which  are  the  Word  of  God,  evolved  the  essential  fundamental 
change.  The  light  of  the  earth  has  shone  only  on  one  side  of  the  moon  for 
six  thousand  years  ;  and  how  long  the  sun  may  have  shone  uninterruptedly 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT  SCRIPTURES.  129 

icancy  as  if  all  the  elements  of  matter  were  to  be  scattered 
into  chaos  again. 

And  God  said,  Let  there  he  a  firmament — literally,  as  in  the 
margin  of  the  Bible,  expansion — in  the  midst  of  the  waters,  and 
let  it  divide  the  waters  from  the  waters.  And  God  made  the  fir- 
mament, and  it  was  so.  And  God  called  the  firmament  or  expan- 
sion heaven.  And  the  evening  and  the  morning  were  the  second 
day. 

"  The  number  of  compound  nebulae,"  says  Sir  W.  Herschel, 
"  being  so  considerable  (a  hundred  and  fifty  being  noticed  in 
the  three  preceding  articles),  it  will  follow  that,  if  they  owe 
their  origin  to  the  breaking  up  of  some /ormer  extensive  neb- 
ulosities of  the  same  nature  with  those  which  have  been 
shown  to  exist  at  present,  we  might  expect  that  the  number 
of  separate  nebulae  should  far  exceed  the  former,  and,  more- 
over, that  these  scattered  nebulae  should  be  found  not  only 
in  great  abundance,  but  also  in  proximity  or  continuity  with 

on  one  side  of  the  earth,  before  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  it 
is  not  for  mortal  man,  who  is  but  of  yesterday,  to  determine.  So  long  as 
there  was  continuous  light,  so  long  was  the  day.  And  each  day — as  now 
— was  defined  as  determined  by  the  light ;  the  seventh  returning  succession 
of  which,  when  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished  and  the  present 
order  established,  connected  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  with  the  begmning 
of  the  creation,  and  was  ever  to  be  remembered  and  kept  holy  to  the  glory 
of  the  Creator,  in  whose  word  it  is  written  by  an  apostle,  as  he  looked 
from  the  beginning  of  the  creation  to  the  dissolution  of  the  lieavens  and  of 
the  earth.  Be  not  ignorant  of  this  one  thing,  that  one  day  is  with  the  Lord 
as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day.  2  Peter  iii.,  8.  And 
looking  alone  to  the  scripture  definition  of  the  successive  days  of  creation, 
or  measuring  the  day  by  the  light,  then  we  see  that  if  the  light  continued 
for  but  an  hour,  that  hour  was  the  day ;  or  if  it  lasted  uninterruptedly  for 
a  thousand  years,  or  so  long  as  each  rotation  of  the  earth  round  its  axis 
corresponded  with  its  revolution  in  its  orbit,  the  same  face,  so  to  speak,  be- 
ing always  presented  to  the  sun  (as  that  of  the  moon  is  to  the  earth),  con- 
cerning that  period  or  any  other,  this,  and  this  alone,  was  the  word  of  God, 
he  called  the  light  day,  and  there  was  evening  and  there  was  morning  each  suc- 
ceeding day.  The  Hebrew  word  translated  evening  literally  signifies  mix- 
ture or  mingling.  D''D"\l?n  V3»  between  the  evenings,  or,  more  literally,  be- 
tween the  mixtures  (PavkhuTst).  The  origianl  or  primary  meaning  of  the 
term  evening  thus  implies  greater  changes  in  the  previous  order  than  that 
of  the  absence  of  light.  Its  significancy  may  be  seen  in  the  successive 
changes  during  the  progress  of  creation,  and  in  the  different  strata  conjoined 
in  the  same  "  series"  of  formations,  or  in  the  transitions  from  one  series  to 
another.  There  was  evening  (literally  mixture)  and  there  was  inorning  in 
the  six  days  of  creation.  The  term  morning  or  the  dawn  (Gesenius),  equiv- 
alent with  to  see  or  to  behold,  implies  the  return  of  the  light,  the  darkness  be- 
ing ended,  or  the  mixture  or  transition  being  accomplished.  The  day  was 
measured  by  the  light,  and  not  the  light  by  the  day  ;  and  except  skeptics 
define  the  duration  of  the  light  before  the  sun  existed  and  also  before  the 
work  of  creation  was  finished,  even  as  scripture  defines  the  duration  of 
the  day  by  that  of  the  light,  they  are  free  to  talk  of  millions  of  years.  But 
knowing  in  whom  they  have  believed,  Christians  may  retain  their  faith, 
that,  at  once,  or  even  in  a  m.omerit,  the  waters  brought  forth  living  creatures 
ABUNDANTLY  at  the  word  of  the  Lord. 


130  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

each  other,  according  to  the  different  extents  and  situations 
of  the  former  diffusions  of  such  nebulous  matter.  Now  this 
is  exactly  what,  by  observation^  we  find  to  be  stated  of  the 
heavens.''''* 

*'  Parting  with  these  diffused  and  amorphous  nebulosities," 
says  Dr.  Nichol,  "  structure,  as  governed  by  law,  begins  to  ap- 
pear" (or  another  word  of  God  was  another  law  to  nature). 
"  Even  its  first  visible  indications  are  very  emphatic.  The 
winding  nebulosity  in  Plate  XV.  (II.),  for  instance,  exhibits 
a  congregating  or  condensing  of  the  filmy  matter  into  two 
distinct  places,  which  look  like  bright  nuclei,  surrounded  by  a 
corresponding  dark  ring,  precisely  as  if  it  had  been  formed 
by  an  actual  condensation  of  the  diffused  matter,  under  con- 
trol of  the  law  of  universal  gravitation.  This  is  no  anoma- 
lous appearance,  for  in  every  case  the  seeming  commence- 
ments of  structure*  are  of  the  same  kind.  This  aggregating 
power,  indeed,  without  the  interference  of  any  other,  appears 
to  lead  to  the  entire  breaking  up  of  the  amorphous  masses."! 
The  same  instructive  nebulosity  shows  how  the  light  is  di- 
vided from  the  darkness,  one  part  being  extremely  faint ;  and 
the  nebulous  or  luminous  matter  is  condensed  and  compara- 
tively bright,  or  so  concentrated  from  that  of  its  original  dif- 
fused and  void  or  vaporous  state,  that  it  may  be  seen  how 
nebulae,  by  a  new  law,  begin  to  grow  out  of  a  nebulosity. 
One  change,  or  the  word  that  causes  it,  may  be  said  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  another,  as  observable  in  all  the  works  of 
God  ;  and  the  dividing  of  the  light  from  the  darkness  is  suc- 
ceeded, as  may  be  seen  in  the  same  figure,  by  the  dividing  of 
the  waters  from  the  loaters ;  and  the  shapeless  mass  begins  to 
be  broken  up  or  subdivided.  The  dividing  of  the  waters  from 
the  waters,  or  the  division  of  one  nebulosity  into  separate 
nebulje,  may  best  be  interpreted  and  understood  by  other 
figures  in  the  same  plate,  which  form  the  objects  of  the  ob- 
servation of  astronomers  ;  and  which  they  have  set  forth  to 
show  the  next  step  in  the  visible  progress  of  the  construction 
of  the  heavens,  by  comparing  together  many  hundreds  of 
nebulae. 

"  The  present  state  of  the  heavens  presents  us  with  sever- 
al extensive  collections  of  scattered  nebulae,  plainly  indica- 
ting by  their  very  remarkable  arrangement  that  they  owe 
their  origin  to  some  former  common  stock  of  nebulous  mat- 
ter."t 

"  The  expansion  of  the  nebulous  matter  in  general  may  be 
considered  as  consisting  of  three  dimensions."  "  The  class 
of  nebulae  which  are  chiefly  extended  in  length,  but,  at  the 
same  time,  have  a  considerable  breadth,  is  very  numerous. 

*  Phil.  Trans,  for  1811,  p.  280. 

t  Nichol's  Architecture  of  the  Heavens,  p.  133,  134, 

X   Phil.  Trans,  for  1811,  p.  291,  292. 


F/yM. 


UP 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  131 

This  kind  of  expansion  (firmament)  admits  of  the  utmost  va- 
riety of  lengthened  form  and  position ;  and  from  the  great 
number  of  nebulae  to  which  I  have  referred,"  says  Sir  W. 
Herschel,  "  the  existence  of  such  nebulosities  is  fairly  to  be 
deduced."*  "  The  appearance  of  an  irregular  round  figure 
necessarily  requires  that  the  extent  of  two  dimensions  of  the 
nebulous  matter  should  be  nearly  equal  in  every  direction  at 
right  angles  to  each  other.  Except  an  irregular  cylinder  or 
cone,  placed  in  a  particular  required  situation,  no  expansion 
of  the  nebulous  matter  but  an  irregular  globular  one  can  be 
the  cause  of  the  irregular  round  figure  of  these  nebulae."! 

The  term  expansion  (as  the  original  Hebrew  word,  trans- 
lated firmament,  literally  means)  of  nebulous  matter  is  of 
repeated  occurrence  in  the  writings  of  Sir  W.  Herschel,  in 
describing  different  forms  of  nebulae,  and  it  appropriately  des- 
ignates the  sphere  of  each.  By  the  breaking  up  of  former 
extensive  nebulosities,  the  loaters,  or  by  whatever  name  the 
nebulous  fluid  be  designated,  were  divided  from  the  waters. 
Each  separate  nebula  had  its  own  firmament  in  the  midst  of 
them.  And  if,  as  Sir  W.  Herschel  states,  and  as  appearances 
indicate,  "  the  separate  and  scattered  nebulae  owe  their  ori- 
gin to  the  breaking  up  of  some  former  nebulosities,"  the  neb- 
ulous fluid  under  the  firmament,  or  within  the  expansion  of 
each  nebula,  was  thus  divided  from  that  above  or  beyond  it, 
till  the  word  had  its  perfect  work.  And  it  was  so ;  and  over 
the  mighty  space,  throughout  which  matter  in  "its  rudest 
state,"  or  without  form  and  void,  was  previously  diflfused,  the 
expanse  of  heaven  was  stretched  out,  and  God  called  the  fir- 
mament heaven  ;  and  there  ivas  evening  and  there  was  morning 
the  second  day. 

And  God  said.  Let  the  waters  under  the  heaven  he  gathered 
together  i?ito  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  (landj)  appear :  and  it 
was  so.  And  God  called  the  dry  (land)  earth  ;  and  the  gather- 
ing together  of  the  waters  called  he  seas ;  and  God  saw  that  it 
was  good.  Gen.  i.,  9,  10. 

The  diffiise  nebulous  matter,  without  form  and  void ;  the 
dividing  of  the  light  from  the  darkness  ;  and,  subsequently,  the 
dividing  of  the  waters  (or  the  nebulous  fluid)  from  the  wa- 
ters ;  and,  next,  the  gathering  together  into  one  place  of  the 
diff'used  elements  of  matter,  may  be  seen,  as,  in  the  wonder- 
ful progress  of  astronomical  science,  "  the  construction  of 
the  heavens,"  in  all  its  grades,  is  brought  before  the  "  obser- 
vation" of  man.  The  same  law  of  gravitation,  or  word  of 
God,  manifests  its  power  over  all.     The  gradual  condensa- 

♦  Phil.  Transactions  for  181 1 ,  p.  294,  295.  t  Ibid.,  p.  297. 

X  Not  in  the  original.  The  sarrie  fluid  or  waters  once  void  became  con- 
soidated  ;  and  that  which  was  once  liquid  became  dry,  and,  formerly  cov- 
ered or  unseen,  it  appeared. 


132  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

tioii  of  the  nebulous  matter,  "  as  shown  in  hundreds  of  in- 
stances, is  rendered  so  evident,"  to  use  the  words  of  Sir  W. 
Hersehcl,  "  as  not  to  admit  of  a  doubt ;"  and  is  thus  gathered 
together  into  one  place.  "  Instead  of  inquiring  after  the  na- 
ture of  the  cause  of  the  condensation  of  the  nebulous  matter^  it 
would  indeed  be  sufficient,"  in  the  words  of  Sir  W.  Herschel, 
"to  call  it  merely  a  condensing  j/rinciple;  but  since  we  are 
already  acquainted  with  the  centripetal  force  of  attraction 
which  gives  a  globular  figure  to  planets,  keeps  them  from  fly- 
ing out  of  their  orbits  in  tangents,  and  makes  one  star  re- 
volve around  another,  why  should  we  not  look  up  to  the 
universal  gravitation  of  matter  as  the  cause  of  every  condensa- 
tion, accumulation,  compression,  and  concentration  [gathering 
together  into  one  place]  of  the  nebulous  matter?  Facts  are 
not  wanting  to  prove  that  such  a  power  has  been  exerted; 
and  as  I  shall  point  out  a  series  of  phenomena,"  he  contin- 
ues, "  in  the  heavens,  where  astronomers  may  read  in  legi- 
ble characters  the  manifest  vestiges  of  such  an  exertion,  I 
need  not  hesitate  to  proceed  in  a  few  additional  remarks  on 
the  consequences  that  must  arise  from  the  admission  of  this 
attractive  principle."*    Plate  III. 

Sir  Isaac  Newton  was  the  first  to  discover,  in  modern  times, 
the  law  of  gravitation.  But  in  one  of  the  first  verses  of  the 
Bible  the  origin  of  that  law,  as  giving  a  being  and  a  form  to 
every  globe,  may  here  be  read  in  the  word  of  its  Author,  as 
that  of  the  Legislator  of  the  Universe.  Let  the  waters  be 
gathered  together  into  one  place,  "  The  gravitation  of  matter" 
may  be  looked  up  to  as  the  cause  of  every  concentration,  or 
gathering  together  into  one  place,  of  the  nebulous  matter. 
But,  in  respect  specially  to  the  origin  of  planets,  of  which 
our  globe  is  one,  the  theory  of  La  Place,  incomparably  the 
simplest,  the  most  scientific  and  profound,  which  has  ever 
been  promulgated,  and  which  is  perfectly  accordant  with  the 
views  of  Sir  W.  Herschel  respecting  the  gradual  condensa- 
tion of  nebulae,  strikingly  illustrates  how,  throughout  the 
whole  circle  or  orbit  in  which  the  earth  annually  revolves 
round  the  sun,  the  scattered  elements  of  our  globe,  under  the 
firmament  or  heaven,  were  gathered  together  into  one  place, 
or  concentrated  into  a  single  globe. 

Whenever  the  theories  of  philosophers  are  inferences  from 
facts  or  deductions  from  the  known  laws  of  nature,  they  are 
justly  entitled  to  strict  examination  and  high  regard,  while 
the  vain  speculations  of  imaginative  theorists  are  destitute 
of  any  claim  to  the  slightest  consideration.  La  Place  was 
never  excelled  by  any  mortal  in  the  study  and  knowledge  of 
the  mechanism  of  the  heavens.  And  he  who  calculated  the 
utmost  perturbation  of  the  planets  in  their  orbits,  according 

*  Phil.  Tran.s.  for  181 1 ,  p.  284. 


JI?IVBRSIT7] 


nir 


i^m 


OF    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  133 

to  existing  relations  and  laws,  was  the  man  above  all  others 
entitled  to  present  to  the  world  a  theory  of  their  origin,  such 
as  harmonized  with  his  calculations,  and  was  evolved  from 
the  profound  knowledge  of  the  motions  and  of  the  laws  by 
Avhich  they  are  regulated. 

.  If  any  testimony  be  lacking  to  connect  "  the  construction 
of  the  heavens,"  as  deduced  from  the  observations  of  astron- 
omers, with  that  of  the  successive  formations  which  the  earth 
presents  to  geologists,  there  cannot  be  a  more  unexception- 
able witness  than  the  man  who  gave  his  great  name  to  the 
argument  of  Hume  ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  more  competent 
witness  than  "  the  philosopher  whose  knowledge  of  celes- 
tial mechanism  was  complete,  and  whose  capacity  to  trace 
elementary  laws  to  their  remotest  consequences  has  never 
been  surpassed  !"*  La  Place's  theory,  founded  on  philosoph- 
ical principles,  and  lucidly  illustrated  by  Professor  Nichol, 
is,  that,  in  the  gradual  condensation  of  the  nebulous  fluid,  the 
substance  of  the  planets  was  separated  by  the  rotatory  mo- 
tion of  the  mass  (in  the  same  manner  as  loose  matter  is 
thrown  off  from  a  revolving  wheel) ;  and  its  original  motion 
being  preserved,  the  separate  parts  were  combined  by  their 
relative  attraction,  "  the  whole  solidifying  into  T»ne  consid- 
erable globe."!  The  theory  which  accords  with  and  explains 
many  astronomical  facts,  otherwise  unresolvable,  is  not  less 
accordant  with  the  Mosaic  record,  and  may  be  said  to  show 
at  once  how  the  nebulous  fluid  or  waters  were  first  divided., 
and  afterward  gathered  together  into  one  place,  and  also 
how  the  existence  of  light  and  the  formation  of  the  earth 
preceded  that  of  the  sun  and  of  the  moon. 

The  largest  telescopes,  penetrating  an  inconceivable  dis- 
tance into  space,  have  power  to  bring  within  the  vision  of 
the  human  eye  luminous  objects  three  hundred  and  eighty 
times  more  distant  than  Sirius,  the  distance  of  which  is  so 
great  that  the  diameter  of  the  earth's  orbit  (one  hundred  and 
ninety  millions  of  miles)  is  comparatively  a  point,  and  forms 
not  a  line  wherewith  to  measure  it.  But  in  such  a  field  of 
view,  a  dark  globe  like  ours,  that  shines  not  by  its  own  light, 
may  comparatively  be  deemed  a  microscopic  object,  coil- 
cerning  which,  in  remote  regions,  it  need  not  be  wondered 
that  the  telescope  has  little  or  nothing  to  tell :  and  with  all  its 
powers  it  cannot  show  in  any  case  the  incipient  changes  or 
growing  divisions  of  a  distant  globe,  from  which  some  anal- 
ogy might  be  traced  as  to  the  origin  of  our  earth.  The  task 
belongs  to  geologists :  and  the  earth  itself  is  their  field.  So 
soon  as  the  dry  land  appears.,  their  testimony  may  begin  ;  and 
though  their  work  be  incomplete,  their  labours  have  been 

♦Nichol's  Architecture  of  the  Heavens,  p.  177. 
t  Nichol,  p  173. 

M 


134  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

abundant,  and  some  results  are  sure.  They  have  discovered 
an  order,  or  a  succession  of  changes  in  the  structure  of  the 
earth,  as  distinct  in  some  respects  as  that  which  astronomers 
have  observed  in  the  "  construction  of  the  heavens."  And 
so  far  as  geology  is  perfected  as  a  science,  a  comparison 
may  be  also  instituted  between  what  was  written  of  old  and 
what  has  been  newly  discovered.  'The  general  accordance 
is  obvious,  and  has  been  repeatedly  referred  to  :  but  the  term 
day,  its  scriptural  definition,  having  been  overlooked,  has  been 
a  stumbling-block,  as  if  it  had  been  defined  by  hours  and  not 
by  the  light. 

It  would  tend  to  the  "  oppositions  of  science,"  falsely  so 
called,  rather  than  to  the  elucidation  of  indisputable  truth, 
to  institute  a  comparison  between  the  scriptural  account  of 
the  creation  of  the  earth,  and  those  alleged  facts  relative  to 
its  structure,  concerning  which  geologists  are  not  themselves 
agreed.  The  science  is  both  new  and  avowedly  imperfect. 
Of  the  distribution  of  organic  remains  in  the  earth.  Profes- 
sor Phillips,  in  his  able  treatise,  states,  "  that  accurate  results 
on  the  subject  are  yet  collected  from  a  very  small  part  of 
the  surface  of  the  globe."*  In  respect  to  ascertainable  facts, 
the  science  must  be  perfected  before  the  comparison  can  be 
completed.  But  between  the  Mosaic  record  and  the  writings 
of  some  geologists,  who  exclude  it  from  their  view  or  keep 
it  wholly  apart  from  their  investigations,  the  analogy  might 
be  traced  far  more  closely  than  some  systems  of  geology 
agree  with  each  other. 

"  In  geology,  the  whole  period  included  between  the  limits 
(of  the  different  epochs)  is,  and,  perhaps,  must  ever  be,  abso- 
lutely unknown;  yet  the  succession  of  occurrences  is,  in 
general,  clearly  ascertained. "f  The  periods  measured  by 
the  succession  of  light  and  darkness  in  a  yet  unformed  or 
unfinished  world,  and,  except  as  thus  alone  defined,  the  whole 
period  from  the  time  that  the  earth  was  loithout  form  and  void^ 
till  the  heavens  and  the  earth  luere  finished,  and  all  the  host  of 
them,  must  perhaps,  in  like  manner,  be  ever  absolutely  un- 
known :  but  a  succession  of  occurrences  is  detailed  in  the 
written  word,  as  well  as  ascertained  in  fact.  And  geology 
aflbrds  the  means  of  a  kindred  comparison  with  that  which 
astronomy  first  supplies.  As  in  former  instances,  the  con- 
nexion may,  on  high  authority,  be  traced  between  the  one 
"  series  of  new  discoveries"  and  the  other.  And  the  testi- 
mony of  astronomers  and  geologists  may  be  thus  linked  to- 
gether. 

"  La  Place  and  Herschel  have  presented,  as  the  result  of 
their  profound  reflections,  the  speculation  of  this  globe  origi- 

♦  Phillips's  Geology,  in  new  edition  of  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  and 
Beparately  published,  p.  51. 
t  Phillips's  Geology,  p.  291. 


OP    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  135 

nating  from  the  condensation  of  a  gaseous  expansion  in 
space ;  a  notion  often  extended  to  the  other  planets,  and 
supposed  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  common  direction  of 
their  motion  round  the  sun,  the  nearly  coincident  planes  of 
their  orbits,  and  other  less  striking  circumstances.  That 
such  gaseous  or  vaporous  expansions  exist  in  spaces  is  known 
both  by  observation  of  comets  and  of  nebulae."* 

La  Place,  it  is  said,  was  asked  by  Bonaparte  why  he  never 
extended  his  views  from  secondary  causes  to  the  first  great 
cause.  That,  it  was  replied,  does  not  come  within  the  field 
of  our  observation.  But  beyond  what  man  could  see,  in  re- 
spect to  the  condensation  of  our  globe,  from  a  void  or  vapor- 
ous mass  to  a  consolidated  form,  we  read  what  philosophers 
have  not  always  considered. 

And  God  said,  Let  the  waters  under  the  heaven  he  gathered 
together  unto  one  place,  and  let  the  dry  (land)  apfear:  and  it 
was  so. 

The  gathering  together  unto  one  place  is  the  law  of  each 
globe,  by  the  condensation  of  the  nebulous  mass,  and  may 
be  said  to  be  visible  in  every  degree  of  condensation.  And 
the  whole  earth,  as  astronomers  and  geologists  are  agreed, 
was,  as  the  most  probable  inference  from  existing  phenome- 
na, once  a  liquid  mass,  and  covered  all  over  with  waters,  or 
in  a  fluid  form.  And  as  at  first  the  earth  was  without  form 
and  void,  and  astronomical  observations  show  that  such  is 
the  rudest  and  first  visible  state  of  matter ;  so  geological  dis- 
coveries, previously  adduced  in  refutation  of  the  saying  of 
scoff'ers,  that  all  things  have  continued  as  they  were  from 
the  beginning  of  the  creation,  here  supply  as  clear  a  com- 
mentary on  the  first  scriptural  description  of  the  earth,  when 
the  waters  had  been  gathered  together  into  one  place,  and 
the  dry  and  consoHdated  crust  of  the  earth  began  to  appear. 
That  the  (so  termed)  primitive  rocks,  which  formed  the  high- 
est mountain  ranges,  were  elevated,  by  whatever  cause,  from 
below  the  level  of  the  ocean  into  their  present  position,  is 
held  by  geologists  as  an  ascertained  and  undoubted  truth. 

When  the  previous  progress  of  creation  had  converted 
amorphous,  or  formless  and  void,  or  vapoury  matter,  into  a 
consolidated  globe,  on  which  the  dry  land  appeared,  a  new 
act  of  creation  covered  it  with  verdure,  and,  with  a  word,  God 
clad  with  beauty  the  world  he  had  made. 

AtLd  God  said,  Let  the  earth  bring  forth  grass,  and  herb  yield- 
ing seed,  and  the  fruit-tree  yielding  fruit  after  his  kind,  whose 
seed  is  in  itself  upon  the  earth :  and  it  was  so.  And  the  earth 
brought  forth  grass,  and  herb  yielding  seed  after  his  kind,  and 
the  tree  yielding  fruit  whose  seed  ivas  in  itself  after  his  kind: 
and  God  saw  that  it  ivas  good.  And  there  luas  evening  and 
there  ivas  morning  the  third  day.  Ver.  II,  12,  13. 

*  Phillips's  Geology,  p.  257. 


136  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

Man,  though  not.  then  the  witness,  was  from  the  beginning 
the  object  of  the  Creator's  bounty.  Gniss,  herbs,  and  trees 
are  now  nowhere  so  abundant  on  the  earlJi,  as  are  still  the 
collected  remains  of  those  which  lie  entombed  within  it, 
after  the  lapse  of  thousands  of  years  since  they  flourished 
on  its  surface,  when  the  grass  was  untrodden  and  the  fruit 
untasted  by  man  or  by  beast.  Now  ripened  into  produce, 
rich  as  apples  of  gold  and  of  silver,  the  universal  benefit 
they  yield  is  a  universal  proof  of  their  primeval  existence. 
The  vegetable  origin  of  coal  may  be  held  as  now  an  in- 
disputed  fact.  "  It  is  worthy  of  attention,"  says  Phillips, 
"  that,  after  the  coal  was  deposited,  reptile  life  began  to  be  mani- 
fested, and,  finally,  to  predominate  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
vegetable  life,  though  the  land  was  much  more  extensive, 
and  apparently  much  more  lowered  in  temperature,  never 
yielded  og(0i  such  thick  and  extensive  carbonaceous  deposites y* 
"  An  abundance  of  distinctly  preserved  vegetable  remains 
occur  throughout  the  coal-fields  of  Great  Britain.  But  the 
finest  example  I  have  ever  witnessed,"  says  Buckland,  "is 
that  of  the  coal-mines  of  Bohemia.  The  most  elaborate 
imitations  of  living  foliage  upon  the  painted  ceilings  of  Ital- 
ian palaces  bear  no  comparison  with  the  beauteous  profu- 
sion of  extinct  vegetable  forms  with  which  the  galleries  of 
these  instructive  coal-mines  are  overhung.  The  roof  is  cov- 
ered as  with  a  canopy  of  gorgeous  tapestry,  enriched  with 
festoons  of  most  graceful  foliage,  flung  in  wild  irregular 
profusion  over  every  portion  of  its  surface.  The  eff'ect 
is  heightened  by  the  contrast  of  the  black  coal  colour  of 
these  vegetables  with  the  light  groundwork  of  the  rock  to 
which  they  are  attached.  The  spectator  feels  himself  trans- 
ported, as  if  by  enchantment,  into  the  forests  of  another 
world  ;  he  beholds  trees  of  form  and  characters  now  unknown 
upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  presented  to  his  senses  al- 
most in  the  beauty  and  vigour  of  their  primeval  life ;  their 
scaly  stems  and  bending  branches,  with  their  delicate  appa- 
ratus of  foliage,  are  all  spread  forth  before  him ;  little  im- 
paired by  the  lapse  of  countless  ages,  and  bearing  faithful 
records  of  extinct  systems  of  vegetation,  which  began  and 
terminated  in  times  of  which  these  relics  are  the  infallible 
historians.  Such  are  the  grand  natural  herbaria  wherein 
these  most  ancient  remains  of  the  vegetable  kingdom  are 
preserved  in  a  stale  of  integrity  little  short  of  their  living 
perfection,  under  conditions  of  our  planet  which  exist  no 
more."t 

In  these  great  natural  herbaria  are  treasured  up  for  the  use 
of  man  the  grass,  and  herbs,  and  trees  which  then  decked 
the  earth,  and  still  enrich  it;  and  yet  remain  to  bear  concur- 

*  Phillips's  Geology,  p.  119. 

t  Buckland's  BridgWRtcr  Treatise,  vol.  i.,  p.  458,  459. 


mi.  a^jxim^ir  sm  c:;®iL2L„ 


/y  Ain. 


BrogmarL 


~-^-.x 


^ 


THI'      "^ 


y/ix. 


Lwdfy's  Fd'ssU  FWj 


P/.X, 


SIvETni 

of  the 

FOSSIL  STEM   OF  A  TREE. 

ti'iiiitlut  thejfpth  of4Ht;ithi^m.<:. 
ABOVE  THE  VOM. . 


'icale  of  huhes 


''^■illFf' 


n.TV. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  137 

ring  testimony  to  the  record  of  the  fact  of  their  creation  af- 
ter the  dry  (land)  appeared,  and  God  called  the  dry  land  earth. 

But  other  and  distinct  acts  of  creation  succeeded  before 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all  the  host  of 
them.  And  from  the  first  foliage  of  auewborn  world  in  its 
pristine  beauty,  we  may  lift  up  our  eyes  and  see,  from  the 
analogy  which  other  firmaments  present,  how  nebulous  mat- 
ter may  be  traced  in  all  its  forms,  as  exemplified  by  a  vast 
variety  of  objects,  till  specks  in  our  firmament,  few  of  which 
are  discernible  to  unassisted  human  vision,  appear  "  clusters 
of  stars"  as  bright  and  numerous  as  the  stars  around  us  that 
are  seen  by  the  naked  eye. 

And  God  said,  Let  there  be  lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  heav- 
en, to  divide  the  day  from  the  night ;  and  let  them  he  for  signs, 
and  for  seasons,  and  for  days  and  years  :  And  let  them  be  for 
lights  in  the  firmament  of  the  heaven,  to  give  light  upon  the  earth  : 
and  it  was  so.  And  God  made  two  great  lights ;  the  greater  light 
to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  ride  the  night :  he  made 
the  stars  also.     See  Plate  IV. 

An  able  and  lucid  illustration  of  this  topic,  in  the  successive 
order  of  creation,  may,  as  the  best  exposition,  be  quoted  at 
length  from  Dr.  Shuttleworth's  excellent  treatise  on  "  The 
Consistency  of  Revelation  with  Human  Reason.''"' 

"  Every  person  conversant  with  the  scriptural  account  of 
the  creation  must  have  been  to  a  certain  degree  perplexed  by 
the  fact  that  Moses  asserts  light  to  have  been  called  into  ex- 
istence on  the  first  day,  and  yet  expressly  declares  that  the 
sun  and  moon  were  not  created  as  luminaries  until  the  fourth. 
This  statement,  at  first  sight,  has  the  air  of  singular  and  gla- 
ring inconsistency,  which  it  would  seem  to  be  impossible  to 
reconcile  with  truth.  If  we  consider  the  writer  of  the  Book 
of  Genesis  as  an  impostor  or  a  fanatical  theorist,  attempting 
to  im'pose  his  own  wild  speculations  upon  the  world,  we  can- 
not possibly  imagine  a  statement  less  likely  to  suggest  it- 
self to  the  author  himself,  or  less  calculated  to  secure  prose- 
lytes. And  yet  the  observations  of  the  late  Sir  W.  Herschel 
afford  us  reason  to  believe,  as  is  well  known,  that  a  process 
is  at  this  moment  going  on  in  the  system  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  precisely  analogous  with  this  statement  of  the  Mosaic 
writings.  That  celebrated  astronomer,  in  his  papers  address- 
ed to  the  Royal  Society  in  1811,  on  the  subject  of  the  celes- 
tial nebulae,  has  given  the  history  of  his  own  observations 
carefully  followed  up  during  the  course  of  a  long  life.  He 
has  there  shown  that  those  irregularly-shaped  and  widely-dif- 
fused masses  of  light,  which,  under  the  name  of  luminous 
nebulae,  had  long  attracted  the  notice  of  scientific  men,  and 
which  are  known  to  exist  in  vast  numbers  in  various  parts 
of  the  heavens,  are,  by  a  regular  process  of  gradual  conden- 
sation, made  to  approach  more  and  more  to  a  spherical  form, 
M2 


138  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

until,  having  acquired  a  bright  stellar  nucleus,  and  losing  their 
remaining  nebulosity,  they  finally  assume  all  the  definite 
brightness  of  a  regular  fixed  star.  From  the  uniformity  of 
this  operation,  so  far  as  it  has  been  remarked,  and  from  the 
vast  multitude  of  instances  in  which  it  has  taken  and  is  still 
taking  place,  it  seems  natural  to  infer  that  a  large  portion  of 
those  stars,  whose  places  have  been  recognised  in  the  heavens 
from  time  immemorial,  derived  their  first  origin  from  the 
same  process.  But  it  is  also  the  generally  received  opinion, 
that  the  sun  of  our  own  planetary  system  is  a  star  precisely 
of  the  same  nature  with  the  rest ;  and,  if  so,  it  seems  not  im- 
probable, from  analogy,  that  it  derived  its  present  form  from 
the  same  cause  of  condensation,  and  that  its  original  state  of 
existence  was  that  of  a  thin  luminous  fluid,  occupying  a  vast 
portion  of  the  orbits  of  ttose  planetary  bodies  of  which  it  is 
now  the  centre.  It  is  surely  not  a*  little  remarkable,  that 
what  might  a  century  ago  have  been  quoted  as  a  seeming  ab- 
surdity and  oversight  in  Scripture,  should  be  found  thus  sig- 
nally to  accord  with  one  of  the  most  curious  discoveries  of 
modern  astronomical  science."* 

"  A  middle  state,"  says  Sir  W.  Herschel, "  between  the  pro- 
gressive condensation  of  a  globular  nebula  and  a  cluster  of 
stars  can  have  no  existence ;  because  a  globular  nebulosity, 
when  condensed,  can  only  produce  a  single  star  ;"t  and  con- 
cerning the  double  stars,  which  form  a  numerous  class.  Sir 
"W.  Herschel  stales,  that  "it  seems  as  if  we  had  these  double 
objects  in  three  different  successive  conditions  :  first  as  neb- 
ulae ;  next  as  stars  with  remaining  nebulosity;  and,  lasd]/,ns 
stars  completely  free  from  nebulous  appearance. "J  He 
classes  the  heavenly  bodies,  with  many  subdivisions,  into 
nebulosities,  nebulae,  stellar  nebulae,  planetary  nebulae,  stars, 
a^d  clusters  of  stars. 

Between  the  result  of  his  "  observations"  in  seeking  to  as- 
certain the  construction  of  the  heavens  and  the  Mosaic  ac- 
count of  the  creation  of  the  heavens,  no  indistinct  analogy, 
we  apprehend,  may  be  traced  from  first  to  last,  till  from  the 
most  diffused  nebulosity,  without  form  and  void,  the  sun, 
the  moon,  and  the  stars  in  oiir  firmament  shone  bright  in  the 
heavens,  and  gave  light  unto  the  earth,  and  lite  void  fluid  from 
which  they  were  formed  was  condensed  in  them  all,  and  its 
original  diffusedncss  subsisted  no  more.  1.  The  fluid  nebu- 
lous matter  w^as  diffused,  or  without  form  and  void.  2.  The 
waters  were  divided  from  the  waters^  or  "the  whole  amorphous 
(shapeless)  mass  was  broken  up,"  and  one  vast  nebulosity  was 
converted  into  many  nehula,  and  in  the  sphere  of  each  an  ca:- 
/?an.sion  or  firmament  was  stretched  out.  3.  The  waters  were 
gathered  together  inio  one  place,  till  each  in  its  order  became 

*  P.  52,  53,  54.  t  Phil.  Trans.  1814,  p.  261. 

t  Phil.  Trans.  1814,  p.  251. 


PLY. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  139 

a  consolidated  globe.  And,  4,  Other  suns  and  systems  being 
simultaneously  formed,  the  word  of  God  had  effect,  and  from 
the  once  void  and  formless  mass,  which  in  the  beginning  con- 
stituted the  substance  of  the  unformed  heavens  and  earth, 
the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars  (See  Plate  V.)  were  brought 
forth  in  their  order ;  and  the  heavens  were  garnished  by  the 
same  Spirit  of  the  Lord  which  moved  at  first  upon  the  face 
of  the  deep. 

And  God  said,  Let  the  waters*  bring  forth  abundantly  the 
moving  creature  that  hath  life,  and  fowl  that  may  fly  above  the 
earth  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven.  And  God  created  great 
whales,  and  every  living  creature  that  moveth,  which  the  waters 
brought  forth  abundantly,  after  their  kind,  and  every  loinged  fowl 
after  his  kind :  and  God  saw  that  it  was  good.  And  God  blessed 
them.,  saying.  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  fill  the  waters  in  the 
seas,  and  let  fowl  multiply  in  the  earth.  And  the  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  fifth  day.  Ver.  20,  23. 

God  created  great  whales.  The  prophet  Ezekiel  compares 
Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt,  to  the  great  dragon  (thaiiim)  that  lieth 
in  the  midst  of  his  rivers.  And  these  and  other  living  crea- 
tures that  moved,  which  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly, 
may  thus  be  identified  with  crocodiles,  sea-lizards,  and  the 
race  of  reptiles. 

*'  The  species  of  fossil  saurians"  (lizards),  to  adopt  tlie 
words  of  Buckland,  "  are  so  numerous,  that  we  can  select 
only  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable  among  them  for  the 
purpose  of  exemplifying  the  prevailing  conditions  of  animal 
Jife  at  the  periods  when  the  dominant  class  of  animated  beings 
'were  reptiles ;  attaining,  in  many  cases,  a  magnitude  unknown 
among  the  living  orders  of  that  class,  and  which  seem  to  be 
peculiar  to  those  iruddle  ages  of  geographical  chronology 
which  were  intermediate  between  the  transition  and  tertiary 
formations, 

"  During  these  ages  of  reptiles,  neither  the  carnivorous  nor 
lacustrine  mammalia  of  the  tertiary  periods  had  begun  to 
appear ;  but  the  most  formidable  occupants,  both  of  land  and 
luater,  were  crocodiles  and  lizards,  of  various  forms,  and  often 
of  gigantic  stature,  fitted  to  endure  the  turbulence  and  con- 
tinual convulsions  of  the  unquiet  surface  of  our  infant  world. 

"  When  we  see  that  so  large  and  important  a  range  has 
been  assigned  to  reptiles  among  the  former  population  of 
our  planet,  we  cannot  but  regard  with  feelings  of  new  and 
unusual  interest  the  comparatively  diminutive  existing  or- 

*  •'Who  can  tell,"  says  Dr.  Nichol,  speaking  of  the  Nebula  in  Orion, 
"  but  this  amorphous  substance  may  bear  within  it,  laid  up  in  its  dark  bosona, 
the  germes,the  producing  power  of  that  life  which  in  coming  ages  will  bud, 
and  blossom,  and  effloresce  into  manifold  and  growing  forms,"  &c.  The 
word  of  the  Lord  did  give  l\\z.i  ■producing  power  to  waters  once  without  form 
(amorphous)  and  void.     And  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly. 


140 


THE    AUTHENTICITY 


ders  of  that  ancient  family  of  quadrupeds,  with  the  very- 
name  of  which  we  usually  associate  a  sentiment  of  disgust. 
We  shall  view  them  with  less  contempt  when  we  learn  from 
the  records  of  geological  history  that  there  was  a  time 
when  reptiles  not  only  constituted  the  chief  tenants,  and  also 
the  most  powerful  possessors  of  the  earth,  but  extended  their 
dominion  also  over  the  waters  of  the  seas. 

"  Persons  to  whom  this  subject  may  now  be  presented  for 
the  first  time  will  receive,  with  much  surprise,  perhaps  al- 
most with  incredulity,  such  statements  as  are  here  advanced. 
It  must  be  admitted,  that  they  at  first  seem  much  niore  like  the 
dream  of  fiction  and  romance  than  the  sober  results  of  calm 
and  deliberate  investigation ;  but  to  those  who  will  examine 
the  evidence  of  facts  upon  which  our  conclusions  rest,  there 
can  remain  no  more  reasonable  doubt  of  the  former  exist- 
ence of  these  strange  and  curious  creatures,  in  the  times  and 
places  we  assign  to  them,  than  is  felt  by  the  antiquary  who, 
finding  the  catacombs  of  Egypt  stored  with  the  mummies  of 
men,  and  apes,  and  crocodiles,  concludes  them  to  be  the  re- 
mains of  mammalia  and  reptiles  that  have  formed  part  of 
an  ancient  population  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile." 

Immediately  continuous  to  this  account  of  fossil  saurians, 
Buckland  selects  in  the  first  instance,  and  describes  the  ich- 
thyosaurus, or,  as  the  word  signifies.f  sh-lizard.  "  If,"  as  he 
remarks,  "  we  examine  these  creatures  with  a  view  to  their 
capabilities  of  locomotion  [the  living  creatures  that  moveth 
which  the  waters  brought  forth,  or  marine  saurians],  and  the 
means  of  offence  and  defence,  which  their  extraordinary, 
structure  afforded  to  them,  we  shall  find  combinations  of 
form  and  mechanical  contrivances  which  are  now  dispersed 
through  various  classes  and  orders  of  existing  animals,  but 
are  no  longer  united  in  the  same  genus.  Thus,  in  the  same 
individual,  the  snout  of  a  tortoise  is  combined  with  the  teeth 
of  a  crocodile,  the  head  of  a  lizard  with  the  vertebrae  of  a 
fish,  and  the  sternum  of  an  ornithorhynchus  with  the  paddles 
of  a  whale.  Some  of  the  largest  of  these  reptiles  must  have 
exceeded  thirty  feet  in  length.''^* 

The  plesiosaurus  (nearly  a  lizard)  is  "nearly  allied  in 
structure  to  the  ichthyosaurus,  and  coextensive  with  it 
through  the  middle  ages  of  our  terrestrial  history.  To  the 
head  of  a  lizard  it  united  the  teeth  of  a  crocodile,  a  neck  of 
enormous  length,  resembling  the  body  of  a  serpent,  a  trunk 
and  tail  having  the  proportions  of  an  ordinary  quadruped, 
the  ribs  of  a  chameleon,  and  the  paddles  of  a  whale.  Such  are 
the  strange  combinations  of  form  and  structure  in  the  plesio- 
saurus, a  genus  the  remains  of  which,  after  interm^^nt  foi 

*  Buckland,  ibid.,  p.  169. 


OF    THE    OLD   TEST'AMENT    SCRIPTURES.  141 


From  Sir  Charles  Bell's  Bridgwater  Treatise  on  the  Hand.     {Conybeare.) 

thousands  of  years  amid  the  wreck  of  millions  of  extinct 
inhabitants  of  the  ancient  earth,  are  at  length  recalled  to 
light  by  the  researches  of  the  geologist,  and  submitted  to  our 
examination  in  nearly  as  perfect  a  state  as  the  bones  of  the 
speties  that  are  now  existing  upon  the  earth.  The  plesio- 
sauri  appear  to  have  lived  in  shallow  seas  and  estuaries.  We 
are  already  acquainted  with  five  or  six  species,  some  of  which 
attained  a  prodigious  size  and  length^''''  &;c.* 

The  megalosaurus,  or  great  lizard,  which  ranks  in  the  same 
order  and  era,  was  an  enormous  reptile  measuring  from  forty 
to  fifty  feet  in  length,  and,  according  toCuvierand  Buckland, 
"  partaking  of  the  structure  of  the  crocodile  and  the  monitor."t 
"  It  probably  fed  on  smaller  reptiles,  such  as  crocodiles  and 
tortoises,  whose  remains  abound  in  the  same  strata  with  its 
bones. "J  Identified  as  the  same  word  of  the  original  He- 
brew is  with  the  dragon  or  crocodile  of  the  Nile,  a  clearer 
commentary  caimot  besought  to  show  how  closely,  in  char- 
acterizing the  animals  and  specifying  the  relative  era  of  their 
formation,  the  scriptural  record  bears  upon  the  fact. 

"  The  peculiar  feature  in  the  population  of  the  whole  se- 
ries of  secondary  strata  was  the  prevalence  of  numerous 
and  gigantic  forms  of  saurian  reptiles.  Many  of  these  were 
exclusively  marine  ;  others  amphibious ;  others  were  terres- 
trial, ranging  in  savannas  and  jungles,  clothed  with  a  tropi- 
cal vegetation,  or  basking  on  the  margins  of  estuaries,  lakes, 
and  rivers.  Even  the  air  was  tenanted  by  flying  lizards,^  under 
the  dragon  form  of  pierodactyles.  The  earth  was  probably 
at  that  time  too  much  covered  with  water,  and  those  por- 
tions of  land  which  had  emerged  above  the  surface  were 


*  Buckland,  vol.  ii.,  p.  202,  203.  f  Ibid  ,  p.  234.  t  Ibid.,  p.  237. 

§  "  We  are  already  acquainted  with  eight  species  of  these  flying  sau- 
rians,  varying  from  the  size  of  a  snipe  to  that  of  a  cormorant." — See  Buck- 
land's  description  of  them,  vol.  ii.,  p.  221-223.  Besides  these,  the  remains 
or  footsteps  of  other  birds  have  been  discovered  in  strata  of  the  secondary 
series. — Ibid.,  p.  86. 


142  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

too  frequently  agitated  by  earthquakes,  inundations,  and  at- 
mospheric irregularities,  to  be  extensively  occupied  by  any 
higher  order  of  quadrupeds  than  reptiles."* 

And  God  created  great  whales,  amphibious  animals,  fish- 
lizards,  or  great  lizards,  or  crocodiles,  and  everything  that 
moveth,  which  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly^  after  their 
kind,  and  every  winged  fowl  after'his  kind :  and  God  saw  that  it 
was  good. 

The  reader  may  not  have  failed  to  mark  the  testimony  of 
geologists,  given  in  their  own  words,  that  "  after  the  coal 
was  deposited"  [after  the  third  day  (as  measured  by  the 
hght),  in  which  the  trees  which  formed  them  grew],  "  reptile 
life  began  to  be  manifested,  and  finally  to  preponderate"  [on 
the  fifth  day].  "The  middle  ages  of  geological  chronology 
that  were  intermediate  between  the  transition  or  tertiary  for- 
mations [even  as  the  fifth  period  of  light  was  intermediate 
between  the  third  and  the  sixth]  are  denominated  '  the  ages 
of  reptiles.'  And,  again,  during  the  ages  of  reptiles,  neither 
the  carnivorous  nor  lacustrine  mammalia  of  the  tertiary 
period  had  begun  to  appear." 

But  it  is  farther  written,  in  reference  to  a  distinct  and  suc- 
cessive (or  the  tertiary)  period,  And  God  said,  Let  the  earth 
bring  forth  the  living  creature  after  his  kind,  cattle,  and  creep- 
ing thing,  and  the  beast  of  the  earth  after  his  kind:  and  it  was  so. 
And  God  made  the  beast  of  the  earth  after  his  kind,  and  every- 
thing that  creepeth  upon  the  earth  after  his  kind :  and  God  saw 
that  it  was  good. 

"The  tertiary  series  introduces  a  system  of  new  phe- 
nomena, presenting  formations  in  which  the  remains  of  ani- 
mal and  vegetable  life  approach  gradually  nearer  to  species 
of  our  own  epoch."!  "  ^^  appears  that  the  animal  kingdom 
was  thus  early  established  on  the  same  general  principles 
that  now  prevail ;  not  only  did  the  four  present  classes  of 
vertebraia  exist ;  and  among  mammalia  (animals  which 
suckle  their  young),  the  orders  pachydermata  (thick  skin- 
ned), carnivora,  rodentia  (animals  that  gnaw),  and  marsupi- 
alia  (having  pouches  for  their  young) ;  but  many  of  the  gen- 
era, also,  into  which  living  families  are  distributed  [after 
their  genera  or  hnJ],  were  associated  together  in  the  same 
system  of  adaptations  and  relations  which  they  hold  to  each 
other  in  the  actual  creation. "| 

"  The  recent  origin  of  man  is  not  controverted  by  any  ge- 
ologist." Nor,  it  may  be  said,  is  there  a  doubt  that  man  was 
the  last  of  created  beings  on  the  earth.  That  fact,  which 
physical  science  has  only  newly  disclosed,  ever  had  its  rec- 

*  Buckland,  vol.  i.,  p.  76. 

t  Buckland's  Bridgwater  Treatise,  vol.  i.,  p.  74,  75. 

t  Ibid.,  vol.  i.,  p.  87. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  143 

ord,  like  the  rest,  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  Bible.  For,  as  a 
distinct,  and  separate,  and  last  act  of  creation,  diverse  from 
all  that  preceded  it,  we  read  : 

And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness ;  and  let  them  have  dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the 
earth,  and  over  every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the 
earth.  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image ;  in  the  image  of 
God  created  he  him.  &c.    Ver.  26,  27. 

It  maybe  remarked  that  iYve  fish  of  the  sea,  here  enumer- 
ated as  the  first  in  order,  are  specifically  mentioned  by 
name  for  the  first  time  after  their  creation.  And  the  only 
geological  doubt  or  difliculty  (perhaps  only  yet  unresolved) 
respecting  the  order  of  successive  creations,  compared  with 
the  scriptural  record,  arises  from  the  fact  that  some  marine 
fossils  of  the  earliest  origin  are  to  be  found  in  the  strata  in 
which  the  vegetable  world  was  entombed.  But  it  is  worthy 
of  notice,  that  "  not  a  single  species  of  fossil  fishes  has  yet 
been  found  that  is  common  to  any  two  great  geological  for- 
mations, or  living  in  our  present  seas ;"  and  that  the  forma- 
tions of  magnesian  limestone,  shell  limestone,  and  variegated 
marl,  in  which  the  seas  were  filled  with  marine  animals,  are 
conjoined,  in  the  secondary  series,  with  the  lias  and  oolite 
formations  which  mark  the  era  of  amphibious  animals  or 
reptiles,  were  undoubtedly  subsequent  to  the  carboniferous  or 
coaly  strata,  in  which  vegetables  were  as  closely  imbedded. 
A  neiv  and  great  creation,  characteristic  of  the  period,  and  in- 
cluding the  tenants  of  the  land  as  of  the  deep,  might  well 
have  been  recorded,  though  some  species  of  fishes  which 
had  tenanted  the  seas,  but  were  then  extinct,  found  not  a 
place  in  the  record  of  creation.  The  question  is  not  whether 
that  record  might  not  have  been  more  full  and  complete  if 
its  purpose  had  been  to  teach  geology  to  man,  but  whether, 
as  scoffingly  termed,  "the  few  touches"  which  have  been 
given  do  not  show  that  Moses  moved  the  pencil  by  a  higher 
knowledge  than  his  own.  And  appealing  to  the  most  recent 
discoveries,  both  in  astronomical  and  geological  science,  we 
may  ask  whether  there  be  not  a  visible  resemblance  in  the 
great  lineaments  of  each,  as  presented  and  hterally  painted 
to  our  hand,  with  the  Mosaic  portraiture  of  the  creation  of 
the  heavens  and  of  the  earth. 

The  scriptures  speak  of  the  waters  which  are  above  the 
heavens*  as  subsisting  still ;  and  Christians,  in  their  sacred 
psalmody,  call  on  them  to  praise  the  Lord,  who  commanded 
and  they  were  created.  The  first  chapter  of  the  Bibde  nar- 
rates how,  from  waters  without  form  and  void,  the  heavens 
and  the  earth  were  formed,  till  all  were  finished.    And  need 

*  Ps.  cxlviii.,  4. 


144  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

we  now  to  ask  if  there  be  not  some  analogy  between  what 
scripture  told  from  the  beginning  and  what  science  has  at 
last  discovered  1 

Astronomers  have  written  on  "  the  Construction  of  the 
Heavens,"  "the  Mechanism  of  the  Heavens,"  "the  Archi- 
tecture of  the  Heavens,"*  while  geologists  have  described 
the  successive  formations  in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  Moses 
records  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth.  Their 
conjoint  subjects  are  the  same  as  his. 

Astronomers  have  designated  the  first  and  rudest  form  in 
which  matter  is  visible,  as  nebulosities  and  nebula:,  i.  e.,  cloudi- 
ness and  cloud,  and  have  termed  their  component  substance 
the  nebulous  (or  cloudy)  fluid.  And  how  else  could  wafers 
without  form  and  void,  or  vapoury  and  uncondensed,  be  more 
appropriately  designated  1  The  nebulosities  are  without 
form  and  diffuse,  or  void.  And  so  also  were  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  after  their  light  rendered  them  visible.  As  exhib- 
ited by  the  great  brightness  in  some  parts,  and  extreme 
faintness  in  others,  of  the  same  nebulosity,  the  lighf  may  be 
seen  divided  from  the  darkness.  And  there  loas  evening  and 
there  was  morning  the  first  day . 

Astronomers  next  speak  of  different  forms  of  nebulous 
expansion.  And  in  the  same  nebulosity  may  be  seen  the 
division  into  separate  parts  of  the  luminous  fluid,  or  the 
breaking  up  of  the  whole  amorphous  or  shapeless  mass. 
And  there  was  an  expansion,  or  firmament,  in  the  midst  of  the 
heavens,  and  the  tvaters  were  divided  from  the  waters.  And 
there  was  evening  and  there  was  morning  the  second  day. 

The  gradual  condensation  of  the  nebulae,  as  seen  in  every 
form,  gives  evidence  of  the  recognised  and  universal  law  of 
gravitation  ;  the  centripetal  (centre-seeking)  force,  as  Sir 
Isaac  Newton  termed  it.  And  the  great  modern  master  of 
the  higher  geometry,  who  has  trod  farthest  in  the  path  in 
which  Newton  first  led,  and  who  was  so  versant  with  the 
motions  of  the  planets  as  to  trace  them  by  a  profound  saga- 
city to  an  origin  befitting  the  majestic  and  divine  simplicity 
of  the  laws  which  regulate  them,  has  shown  how,  as  afl'ect- 
ing  our  globe  and  every  other,  the  waters  were  gathered  to- 
gether into  one  place,  and  the  earth  was  consolidated. 

And  as  the  dry  land  appeared,  the  task  of  geologists  be- 
gins. To  the  oldest  of  formations  they  have  given  the  title 
(not  undisputed)  of  primitive  rock ;  and  with  the  magic  wand 
of  truth  they  have  brought  back  again,  after  the  lapse  of 
thousan4s  of  years,  the  springtime  of  our  earth,  and  showed 


*  The  reader  is  specially  referred  to  the  very  interesting  and  able  work 
of  Dr.  Nichol,  Professor  of  Practical  Astronomy,  Glasgow  University,  in 
which  the  subject  is  elucidated  both  in  a  philosophical  and  popular 
manner. 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  145 

how  it  was  clothed  with  the  luxuriance  and  decked  with  the 
beauty  of  paradise  itself.  They  more  than  restore  the  grass, 
and  the  herb,  and  the  fruit-tree,  which  the  fancy  of  man  never 
thought  of,  and  the  eye  of  man  never  looked  on  as  they 
grew.  And  thare  was  evening  and  there  was  morning  the  third 
day. 

Geologists  having  shown  us  the  beauty  of  the  earth,  while 
yet  unblighted  because  of  sin,  astronomers  invite  us  to  look 
up  again  to  the  heavens  and  see  how  the  nebulous  fluid, 
gradually  conden.sed  to  a  far  narrower  space  than  the  orbit 
of  the  earth,  is  consolidated  into  a  sun,  and,  only  sUghtly 
tinctured  with  nebulosity,  shines  a  light  in  ihe  firmament  of 
heaven;  while,  in  like  manner,  La  Place  illustrates  how  the 
formation  of  the  moon  also  was  necessarily  posterior  to  that 
of  the  earth.  And,  together  with  our  sun,  the  other  stars  of 
our  firmament  were,  by  the  operation  of  the  same  word  of 
God  or  law  of  nature,  simultaneously  formed.  And  there  ivas 
evening  and  there  was  morning  the  fourth  day. 

Geologists  again  take  up  the  task  and  tell  of  a  time — the 
fifth  day,  defined  like  the  rest  by  the  succession  of  light  and 
darkness,  but  else  of  undefined  duration,  and  succeeding  that 
of  the  origin  of  vegetables,  and  preceding  that  of  terrestrial 
animals,  whether  wild  or  domestic — when  the  waters  were 
filled  with  living  creatures,  and  the  air  tenanted  with  birds  : 
and  they  bring  forth  from  the  depositories  which  the  God  of 
na'ure  has  formed,  those  amphibious  animals,  or  race  of  ma- 
rine saurians,  which  they  also  designate  by  the  name  which 
the  original  scriptures  assign  them  in  their  precise  charac- 
ter, magnitude,  tnultiplicily,  and  place.  And  there  was  even- 
ing and  there  teas  morning  the  fifth  day. 

And,  lastly,  the  tertiary  or  latest  formations  (except  those 
of  diluvial  or  more  recent  volcanic  deposiies),  succeeding  the 
age  of  reptiles,  and  preceding  that  of  man,  set  forth  finally  to 
view  the  beasts  of  the  earth,  and  the  cattle,  and  every  creep- 
ing thing  af:er  their  genera  or  kinds,  till  the  whole  work  of 
animal  creation  was  finished.  And  by  a  separate  and  last 
act  of  creative  power,  magnified  as  such,  the  topstone,  once 
pointing  to  heaven,  was  formed  and  put  over  the  whole 
earthly  fabric;  and  the  work  of  creation  here  below  was 
crowned  by  that  of  man,  when,  though  formed  of  the  dust, 
the  Lord  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  and  man 
became  a  living  soul.  And  God  saw  everything  that  he  had 
made,  and,  behold,  it  ivas  very  good.  And  there  was  evening  and 
there  was  morning  the  sixth  day. 

The  following  diagram  from  Phillips's  Geology  (p.  44)  will 
convey  an  idea  of  the  relative  position  and  order  of  succes- 
sion of  unstratified  rock  gg,  of  the  primary  strata  e  d,  of  the 
secondary  c  b,  and  of  the  tertiary  a  {t  trap). 
N 


146  THE    AUTHENTICITY 


Comparing  these  independent  accounts,  respectively  writ- 
ten at  the  interval  of  three  thousand  years,  and  guarantied 
by  observations  of  the  heavens  and  demonstrations  in  the 
earth,  may  we  not  conjoin  the  last  verse  of  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Genesis  with  the  first  verse  of  the  second,  and  em- 
phatically say,  Thus  the.  heavens  and  the  earth  ivere  finished^ 
and  all  the  host  of  them  *  And  whose  word  is  this  but  that  of 
their  Creator  T 

The  stars  of  our  firmament  are  indeed  a  host,  of  which  a 
small  part  only  is  seen  by  the  unaided  human  eye.  Astron- 
omers, so  far  as  they  can,  have  shown  its  form,  so  as  best  to 
accord  with  and  explain  the  appearance  of  the  heavens,  as 
faintly  represented  in  Plate  \l.\  But  He  who  from  the  be- 
giiming  told  man  of  their  creation,  can  alone  name  them  by 
their  names,  as  he  created  them  by  his  word,  and  brings  them 
forth  in  their  order.  And  from  a  diffused  nebulosity,  waters 
without  form  and  void,  spread  throughout  an  inconceivable 
immensity  of  space,  to  a  numberless  cluster  of  stars,  as  we 
read  the  word  of  God  and  look  on  the  operation  of  his  hands, 
the  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  firmament 

*  Without  any  special  regard  to  the  scriptural  definition  of  the  term  day. 
Christian  writers  since  the  days  of  Athanasius  have  repeatedly  interpreted 
the  days  of  creation  as  periods  of  undefined  duration.  'I'he  modern  hy- 
pothesis is  supported  by  great  names,  "  which  supposes  the  word  'begin- 
ning,' as  applied  by  Moses  in  the  first  verse  of  the  Book  of  Genesis,  to  ex- 
press an  undefined  period  of  time  which  was  antecedent  to  the  last  great 
change  that  afflicted  the  surface  of  the  earth."  But  the  record  itself  does 
not  seem  to  be  limited  to  this  last  great  change,  nor  even  to  the  creation  of 
the  earth  alone,  exclusive  of  the  heavens.  The  earth  is  described  as  with- 
out  form  and  void,  which  is  apparently,  if  not  obviously,  fatal  to  the  idea  of 
anterior  formations.  On  the  second  day  the  firmament  was  made,  which 
God  called  heaven  On  the  fourth  day  (and  not  before  the  first)  God  made 
the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and  set  them  m  the  firmament  of  heaven. 
And  after  the  record  of  the  work  of  the  sixth  and  all  the  preceding  days,  it 
is  said,  Thus  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all  the  host  of  them. 
And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  his  work  which  he  had  made,  &c.  And 
it  is  added,  These  are  the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth,  when 
they  were  created,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and  the 
heavens.  So  manifestly  does  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth, 
frwn  waters  without  form  and  void,  to  the  hosts  of  heaven  in  their  order, 
sesm  to  be  included,  according  to  express  declaration,  in  the  Mosaic  Rec 
ord. 

+  Bnnvster's  Encyclopaedia,  art.  Astronomy,  pi.  41. 


pr.YY. 


OF  rwf   ^^ 

airiVBESITT] 


OF    THE    OLD    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  147 

showeth  his  handiwork.  But  the  law,  also,  of  the  Lord  is 
perfect,  converting  the  soul ;  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is 
sure,  making  wise  the  simple. 

The  heavens  are  our  witnesses  ;  earth  is  full  of  our  depos- 
itaries; truth  must  spring  up  where  the  Creator  hath  sown 
it  ;  and  philosophers  at  last  must  be  its  tributaries.  The 
Christian  may  well  rejoice  in  the  progress  of  science,  and 
gladly  give  it  a  free  and  unfettered  course.  Knowledge  shall 
be  the  stabihty  of  the  times  of  the  Messiah ;  and  the  mind  of 
man,  enlightened  in  the  knowledge  of  the  word  and  works 
of  God,  shall  be  freed  from  the  nebulosity  which  enshrouds 
it,  and  the  light  shall  be  divided  from  the  darkness.  And 
then  shall  the  greatness  of  his  works  be  seen,  and  the  truth 
of  his  word  be  made  manifest. 

But  although,  compared  to  that  full  flood  of  light,  only  the 
first  flush  of  dawn  may  seem  to  be  arising  now  over  all  the 
subject  before  us,  whence,  we  ask,  came  this  light,  were  it 
far  fainter  than  it  is  1  Is  it  not  enough  to  scare  away  the 
children  of  darkness  from  the  field  which  they  have  assumed 
as  their  own  ?  What  invention  of  man  ever  bore  a  simili- 
tude to  truths  ever  previously  unknown  and  only  newly  dis- 
covered, like  tliat  very  record  which  skeptics  have  assailed  ? 
And  how  are  all  imaginative  cosmogonies  of  former  ages 
swallowed  up  by  that  of  Moses,  as  were  the  rods  of  the 
Egyptian  magicians  by  that  of  Aaron '?  Can  our  great  cal- 
culators tell  what  is  the  sum  of  the  improbabilities  that  such 
an  analogy,  if  not  founded  on  fact,  would  have  subsisted  or 
could  be  traced  from  first  to  last  between  the  observations  of 
Sir  W.  Herschel,  the  opinions  of  La  Place,  the  accumulated 
and  classified  discoveries  of  geologists,  and  the  short  and 
simple  record  of  Moses  ]  Before  Herschel  handled  a  tele- 
scope, or  La  Place  had  studied  the  laws  of  planetary  motion, 
or  Cuvier  had  touched  a  fossil  bone,  what  Vulcanist,  or  Nep- 
tunist  (combating  whether  the  crust  of  the  earth  was  of  aque 
ous  or  igneous  origin),  or  other  uninspired  mortal,  could  have 
described  the  order  of  succession,m\\\e  creation  of  the  heav- 
ens and  of  the' earth,  and  marked  in  six  successive  periods 
the  rank  of  each,  in  so  close  conformity  with  the  recent  dis- 
coveries both  of  astronomy  and  geology,  when  the  name  of 
science  can  be  attached  to  these  words,  like  the  man  who, 
three  thousand  years  ago,  could  humanly  know  nothing  of 
either  from  the  mud  of  the  Nile  or  from  the  sands  of  the 
desert  1  What  man  on  earth,  from  the  beginning  of  the  cre- 
ation, ever  recorded  its  history  with  such  conformity  to  ex- 
isting observations  and  discoveries,  as  did  He  of  whom  the 
scripture  saith,  God  made  knoion  his  ivays  unto  Moses  1  And 
has  not  this  word  its  visible  illustration  in  the  first  page  of  the 
Pentateuch,  as  well  as  in  every  prophecy  which  he  uttered  ? 

And  may  we  not  finally  ask  whether  the  testimony,  borne 


148  THE    AUTHENTICITY 

by  the  fate  of  the  Jqws  and  by  the  desolation  of  Judea,  that 
Moses  was  a  prophet  of  the  Highest,  be  not  repeated  by  the 
record  of  the  creation,  and  also,  most  shghtly  as  we  have 
glanced  at  either,  by  the  whole  Mosaic  history  and  dispen- 
sation 1  In  contending  for  the  faith  on  any  ground  to  which 
our  adversaries  bring  us.  it  is  not  epough  that  our  cause  pass 
scHtheless.  When  Nebuchadnezzar  cast  the  faithful  ser- 
vants of  the  Lord  into  the  seven-times  heated  fiery  furnace 
because  they  would  not  worship  a  golden  image,  and  when 
they  came  out  uninjured  by  the  fire  that  slew  those  who 
touched  them,  the  king's  word  was  indeed  changed;  and  he 
blessed  the  God  of  Israel,  and  issued  a  decree  that  none 
should  speak  anything  against  their  God,  "because  there  is 
no  other  God  that  could  deliver  after  this  sort."  And  when 
the  suriplur<-s  come  forth  uninjured  from  the  fire  which  slays 
those  who  touched  them,  may  not  the  words  of  those  be 
changed  who  speak  against  the  Bible  1  may  it  no  be  receiv- 
ed where  before  it  was  ridiculed,  and  be  studied  where  for- 
merly it  was  slighted  1  And  may  not  every  golden  idol  be 
abandoned  for  the  worship  and  service  of  the  Creator  of 
Heaven  and  of  earth,  as  whose  word  the  Bible  is  approved  ; 
not  only  because  it  has  passed  unhurt  through  the  firey  or- 
deal to  which  the  idolaters  of  blinded  reason  subjected  it, 
but  because  it  is  thus  manifest  that  no  uninspired  man  could 
have  written  after  this  sort,  as  Moses  wrote  ;  and  that  no 
other  God  but  the  Lord  by  whom  he  spake  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  as  it  hath  thus  been  told  from  the  be- 


On  the  whole,  even  from 'the  limited  and  imperfect  view 
contained  in  the  preceding  pages,  it  may  be  seen  that  the 
seal  of  God  is  demonstrably  affixed  to  the  Old  Testament. 
Every  country,  and  city,  and  spot  on  which  the  word  of  the 
Lord  lighted,  bears  its  vivid  impression  by  a  reahzed  judg- 
ment :  and  while  these  speak  in  a  language  universally  in- 
telligible, the  Jews  are  living  witnesses  of  "  the  divine  lega- 
tion of  Moses"  in  every  country  under  heaven  :  and  the 
Bible  is  thus  "  the  Book  of  the  Lord,"  in  which  those  things 
aie  written  that  God  alone  could  have  revealed.  Universal 
tradition  supplies  its  concurring  testimony  to  some  of  the 
earliest  historical  events  recorded  by  Moses  ;  and  others  are 
corroborated  by  new  discoveries,  and  even  by  pictorial  rep- 
resentations. Cities  by  their  names  bore  the  inscription  of 
scriptural  facts,  which  is  yet  as  legible  as  ever  in  their  ruins. 
And  to  name  the  patriarchs  and  primogenitors  of  the  He- 
brew race  is  virtually  to  repeat  facts,  thus  consigned  from 
the  beginning  to  everlasting  remembrance.  Positive  insti- 
tuti'ons  were  ordained  for  memorials  in  all  generations  ;  and 
from  their  prophetic  as  well  as  commemorative  nature,  they 


OF    THE    OLD    VESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  149 

set  a  mark  upon  the  Jews  to  show  what  they  were  and  what 
they  shall  be  ;  and  constitute  them  the  witnesses  of  wonders 
wrought  in  Israel  of  old,  and  "  the  prisoners  of  hope,"  who 
look  to  Zion  yet.  Though,  as  Moses  foretold,  they  now 
grope  at  noonday  as  the  bhnd  gropeth  in  darkness,  of  old 
they  were  set  apart  in  another  manner  from  the  nations; 
and  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  ere  a  better  covenant  appeared, 
stood  alone  for  many  ages  before  the  law  was  made  void  by 
traditions,  as  the  sole  witness  and  the  sole  word  of  the  one 
living  and  true  God,  and  was  singularly  and  gloriously  dis- 
tinguished from  all  the  debasements  and  abominations  of 
idolatrous  paganism.  And,  finally,  exclusive  of  manifold 
strong  confirmations  besides,  whether  Moses  in  the  first 
words  of  the  Bible  recorded  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  as  their  construction  and  formation  are  at  last  sci- 
entifically deduced  from  existing  phenomena,  or  Malachi,  in 
closing  the  vision  and  prophecy,  foretold  that  the  land  of  Ju- 
dea  would  be  smitten  with  a  curse  which  is  yet  unrepealed, 
the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  from  first  to  last,  are  not  left 
without  a  witness  that  they  are  the  Word  of  God.   • 

If  the  eyes  of  men  be  closed  against  visible  facts,  and  if 
the  truth  and  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  be 
denied,  farther  inquiry  would  be  alike  unavailing,  and  all 
reason  would  be  lost  on  the  inveterate  enemies  of  faith. 
Could  demonstration  of  a  revealed  word  be  stronger  than 
that  the  Lord  hath  done  the  very  things  which  he  said  1  and 
may  it  not  in  all  truth  and  soberness  be  aflSrmed,  that  if  men 
do  not  believe  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  would  they  be 
•persuaded  though  one  arose  from  the  dead.  The  latter  would 
tell  of  judgments  to  come,  but  the  former  tell  also  of  judg- 
ments that  are  seen.  God  has  accredited  the  fact  that  he 
spake  by  them,  as  none  but  the  Omniscient  could  have  spo- 
ken. He  has  shown  the  interposition  of  his  power  accord- 
ing to  their  word  :  and  he  has  thus  manifested  and  magnified 
that  word  as  his  own.  And  ap[)ealiiig  to  the  understanding 
and  senses  of  men,  his  controversy  with  gainsayers  is 
whether  they  will  believe  or  not :  whether  they  will  close 
their  ears  against  the  truth  and  their  eyes  against  the  light ; 
whether  any  evidence  will  convince  them  ;  or  whether,  when 
the  wrongs  of  reason  shall  be  avenged,  they  shall  see  at  last 
that  they  themselves  had  good  cause  to  "  lay  their  hands  upon 
their  hearts,"  and  say  that  these  are  hardened  in  unbelief 
and  steeled  against  conviction,  till  the  experience  of  judg- 
ment— not  others',  but  their  own — be  finally  the  resistless 
reason  of  a  hopeless  faith. 

But  "  if  the  heart  be  capable  of  comprehending  the  lan- 
g  lage  of  argumentation  ;"  and  if  truths  that  present  them- 
selves to  the  sight  be  seen,  and  belief  in  the  inspired  word 
of  God  be  thus  substantiated  in  every  mind  opened  to  con- 
N2 


150  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

victiou  by  the  Spirit  of  Truths  then  our  task  may  happily 
approach  to  its  close  before  it  be  seemingly  begun,  as  the 
demonstration  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion  follows 
hard  on  the  demonstration  of  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets. 
In  passing  from  the  existing  proofs  of  the  inspiration  of 
the  prophets,  and  of  the  authentiqity  of  the  Old  Testament, 
to  the  consideration  of  the  credibility  of  the  New,  the  way 
of  the  Lord  is  prepared,  and  the  highway  of  our  God  is  made 
straight  by  testimony  not  human,  but  Divine.  Jesus  himself 
said  unto  the  unbelieving  Jews,  "  Do  not  think  that  I  ac- 
cuse you  to  the  Father :  there  is  one  that  accuseth  you,  even 
Moses,  in  whom  ye  trust.  For  had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye 
would  have  believed  me  ;  for  he  wrote  of  me."  "  Moses," 
says  Paul,  '•'■verily  was  faithful  in  all  his  house  as  a  servant, 
for  a  testimony  of  those  things  which  were  to  be  spoken 
after."  He  who  revealed  the  fate  of  the  Jews  to  this  day, 
and  wrote  the  history  of  the  world  from  the  beginning  of  the 
creation,  accuseth  those  before  God  who  believe  not  in 
Jesus.  The  Author  of  the  Christian  religion  and  his  apos- 
tles appeal  to  the  scriptures  as  testifying  of  him.  And  as 
mercy  rejoiceth  over  judgment,  so  the  predicted  judgments 
that  have  fallen  on  guilty  nations  are  the  roitified  credentials 
of  those  prophets  who,  as  witnesses  of  God,  bear  testimony 
of  Messiah  the  Saviour,  as  they  testified  beforehand  the  suf- 
ferings of  Christ  and  the  glory  that  should  follow. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

TESTIMONY  OF  THE  PROPHETS  TO  THE  COMING  OP  A  MESSIAH; 
AND  CONSEQUENT  EXPECTATION  OF  HIS  COMING  AT  THE  COM- 
MENCEMENT OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  ERA. 

That  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  authenticated  as  pro- 
phetically an  inspired  record  and  as  historically  true,  contain 
promises  and  prophecies  concerning  a  coming  Saviour  which 
gradually  develop  the  anticipated  history  of  the  Messiah  and 
of  his  kingdom,  a  selection  of  such  prophecies,  to  be  after- 
ward more  fully  adduced,  may  serve  as  an  ample  demonstra- 
tion. 

And  I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  (the  serpent)  and  the 
woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  it  shall  bruise 
feliv  head,  and  thou  shall  bruise  his  heel.*  And  I  will  make  of 
thee-  (Abraham)  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee,  and 

*  Genesis  iii.,  15. 


rO    A    MESSIAH.  151 

make  thy  name  great ;  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing :  and  in 
thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed.*  And  in  thy 
seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed.f  And  in 
thy  seed  (Isaac's)  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  bless- 
ed.J  And  the  Lord  said,  I  am  the  Lord  God  of  Abraham 
th3^  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac ;  the  land  whereon  thou  liest, 
to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed :  and  thy  (Jacob's)  seed 
shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the  earth ;  and  thou  shalt  spread 
abroad  to  the  west  and  to  the  east,  and  to  the  north  and  to 
the  south ;  and  in  thee  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  families 
of  the  earth  beblessed.<^  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from 
Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from  between  his  feet,  untij  Shiloh 
come;  and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering  of  the  people  be.|| 
I  shall  see  him,  but  not  now ;  I  shall  behold  him,  but  not  nigh  ; 
there  shall  come  a  Star  out  of  Jacob,  and  a  Sceptre  shall  rise 
out  of  Israel,  and  shall  smite  the  corners  of  Moab,  and  de- 
stroy all  the  children  of  Seth.^ff  I  will  raise  them  up  a  prophet 
from  among  their  brethren  like  unto  thee  (Moses),  and  will 
put  my  words  in  his  mouth;  and  he  shall  speak  unto  them  all 
that  I  shall  command  him.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that 
whosoever  will  not  hearken  unto  my  words,  which  he  shall 
speak  in  my  name,  I  will  require  it  of  him.**  And  thine  (Da- 
vid's) house  and  thy  kingdom  shall  be  estabhshed  for  ever 
before  thee  :  thy  throne  shall  be  established  for  ever.ff  I 
have  made  a  covenant  with  my  chosen,  I  have  sworn  unto 
David  my  servant,  thy  seed  will  I  establish  for  ever,  and  build 
up  thy  throne  to  all  generations.  Then  thou  spakest  in  vis- 
ion to  thy  Holy  One,  and  saidst,  I  have  laid  help  upon  one 
that  is  mighty ;  I  have  exalted  one  chosen  out  of  the  people. 
^  I  have  found  David  my  servarft ;  with  my  holy  oil  I  have 
anointed  him  ;  I  will  set  his  hand  also  in  the  sea,  and  his  right 
hand  in  the  rivers ;  also  I  will  make  him  my  firstborn,  higher 
than  the  kings  of  the  earth.  My  covenant  will  I  not  break, 
nor  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  my  lips.  Once  have 
I  sworn  by  my  holiness  that  I  will  not  lie  unto  David.  His 
seed  shall  endure  for  ever,  and  his  throne  as  the  sun  before 
me.  It  shall  be  established  for  ever  as  the  moon,  and  as  a 
faithful  witness  in  heaven.  J|  Why  do  the  heathen  rage,  and 
the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing?  The  kings  of  the  earth 
set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  together,  against 
tlie  Lord,  and  against  his  Anointed,  saying,  Let  us  break 
their  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us  :  Yet 
have  I  set  my  king  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion.  I  will  de- 
clare the  decree  :  the  Lord  hath  said  unto  me.  Thou  art  my 
Son ;  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.     Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall 

*  Genesis  xiL,  2,  3.  f  lb.  xxii.,  18.  t  lb.  xxvi.,  4. 

^  lb.  xxviii.,  13, 14.  ||  lb.  xlix.,  10.  if  Num.  xxiv.,  17. 

**  Deut.  xviii.,  18, 19.  ti  2  Sam.  vii.,  16 

Jt  Psl.xxxix.,  3,  4,  19,  20,  25,  27,34-27. 


362  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession,  &c.*  My  heart  is  in- 
diting a  good  matter;  I  speak  of  the  things  which  I  have 
made  toucliing  the  king.  Thou  art  fairer  than  the  children 
of  men;  grace  is  poured  into  thy  lips;  therefore  God  hath 
blessed  thee  for  ever.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and 
ever;  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a  right  sceptre.  Thou 
lovest  righteousness  and  hatest  wickedness ;  therefore  God, 
thy  God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  the  oil  of  gladness  above 
thy  fellows.  I  will  make  thy  name  to  be  remembered  in  all 
generations. f  He  shall  judge  thy  people  with  righteousness, 
and  thy  poor  with  judgment.  He  shviU  have  dominion  also 
from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
They  that  dwell  in  the  wilderness  shall  bow  before  him ;  and 
his  enemies  shall  lick  the  dust.  He  shall  spare  the  poor  and 
the  needy,  and  shall  save  the  souls  of  the  needy.  His  name 
shall  endure  for  ever.  The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  sit  thou 
at  my  right  hand  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool. 
The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest 
for  ever  after  the  order  of  Melchisedek.J  For  unto  us  a 
child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given ;  and  the  government 
shall  be  upon  his  shoulders ;  and  his  name  shall  be  called 
Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  Mighty  God,  The  Everlasting 
Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  his  gov- 
ernn>ent  and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  of 
David  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  order  it,  and  to  establish  it 
with  judgment  and  with  justice;  from  henceforth  even  for 
ever.  The  zeal  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  will  perform  this.^ 
And  there  shall  come  forth  a  root  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse, 
and  a  Branch  shall  grow  out  of  his  roots :  And  the  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  un-  * 
derstanding,  the  spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  tlie  spirit  of 
knowledge  and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;  and  shall  make  him 
of  quick  understanding  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  ;  and  he  shall 
not  judge  after  the  sight  of  his  eyes,  neither  reprove  after 
the  hearing  of  his  ears ;  but  with  righteousness  shall  he  judge 
the  poor,  and  reprove  with  equity  for  the  meek  of  the  earth  ; 
and  he  shall  smite  the  earth  with  the  rod  of  his  mouth,  and 
with  the  breath  of  his  lips  shall  he  slay  the  wicked.  And 
righteousness  shall  be  the  girdle  of  his  loins,  and  faithfulness 
the  girdle  of  his  reins.  And  in  that  day  there  shall  be  a  root 
of  Jesse,  which  shall  stand  for  an  ensign  of  the  people  ;  to 
it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek ;  and  his  rest  shall  be  glorious.|| 
Behold  my  servant  whom  I  uphold;  mine  elect  in  whom  my 
soul  dehtfhteth ;  1  have  put  my  spirit  upon  him  ;  he  shall  bring 
forth  judgment  to  the  Gentiles.     He  shall  not  cry,  nor  lift 

♦  Ps.  ii.,  1-3,  6-8.        t  Ibid,  xlv.,  1,  2,  6,  &c.        %  Iliid.  Ixiii.  and  ex. 
^  Isa.  IX.,  6,  7.  II  Ibid,  xi.,  1-5,  10. 


TO    A    MESSIAH.  153 

up,  noi  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in  the  streets.  A  bruised 
reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  the  smoking  flax  shall  he  not 
quench.  He  shall  bring  forth  judgment  unto  truth.  He 
shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged  till  he  have  set  judgment 
in  the  earth ;  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law,  &c.  I, 
the  Lord,  have  called  thee  in  righteousness,  and  will  hold 
thine  hantl,  and  will  keep  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant 
of  the  people,  for  a  light  of  the  Gentiles ;  to  open  the  blind 
eyes ;  to  bring  out  the  prisoners  from  the  prison,  and  them 
that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the  prison-houses.*  Is  it  a  light 
thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my  servant,  to  raise  up  the  tribes 
of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of  Israel ;  I  will  also 
give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles,  that  thou  mayst  be  my 
salvation  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Thus  saith  the  Lord, 
the  Redeemer  of  Israel,  and  his  Holy  One,  to  him  whom  man 
despiseth,  to  him  whom  the  nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  of 
rulers,  kings  shall  see  and  arise,  princes  also  shall  worship, 
because  of  the  Lord  that  is  faithful,  and  the  Holy  One  of  Is- 
rael, and  he  shall  choose  thee.f  The  Lord  shall  give  me  the 
tongue  of  the  learned,  that  I  should  know  how  to  speak  a 
word  to  him  that  is  weary ;  he  wakeneth  morning  by  morn- 
ing ;  he  wakeneth  mine  ear  to  hear  as  the  learned.  The  Lord 
God  hath  opened  mine  ear,  and  I  was  not  rebellious,  neither 
turned  away  back.  I  gave  my  back  to  the  smiters,  and  my 
cheeks  to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair.  I  hid  not  my  face 
from  shame  and  spitting.  For  the  Lord  will  help  me ;  there- 
fore shall  I  not  be  confounded  ;  therefore  have  1  set  my  face 
like  a  flint,  and  I  know  that  I  shall  not  be  ashamed.|  Be- 
hold, my  servant  shall  deal  prudently,  he  shall  be  exalted 
and  extolled,  and  be  very  high.  As  many  were  astonished 
at  thee  (his  visage  was  so  marred  more  than  any  man,  and 
his  form  more  than  the  sons  of  men),  so  shall  he  sprinkle 
many  nations  ;  the  kings  shall  shut  their  mouths  at  him  ;  for 
that  which  had  not  been  told  them  shall  they  see;  and  that 
which  they  had  not  heard  shall  they  consider.^  Who  hath 
believed  our  report?  and  to  whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  ' 
revealed  ?  For  he  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender  plant, 
and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground;  he  hath  no  form  nor 
comeliness ;  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty 
that  we  should  desire  him.  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of 
men;  a  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief;  and  we 
hid,  as  it  were,  our  faces  from  him  ;  he  was  despised,  and  we 
esteemed  him  not.  Surely  he  hath  borne  our  griefs  and 
carried  our  sorrows ;  yet  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smit- 
ten of  God,  and  afflicted.  But  he  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressions, he  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities;  the  chastisement 
of  our  peace  was  upon  him ;  and  with  his  stripes  we  are  heai- 

*  Isa.  xlii.,  1-7.  t  Ibid,  xlix.,  6,  7.  ±  Ibid.  1.,  5-7. 

$  Ibid,  lii.,  13-15. 


154  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

ed.  All  we,  like  sheep,  have  gone  astray ;  we  have  turned 
every  one  to  his  own  way ;  and  the  Lord  hath  laid  on  him 
the  iniquity  of  us  all.  He  was  oppressed,  and  he  was  afflict- 
ed; yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth;  he  is  brought  as  a  lamb 
to  the  slaughter;  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb, 
so  he  openeth  not  his  mouth.  He  was  taken  from  prison  and 
from  judgment ;  and  who  shall  declare  his  generation  1  for 
he  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living ;  for  the  trans- 
gression of  my  people  was  he  stricken.  And  he  made  his 
grave  with  the  wicked,  and  with  the  rich  in  his  death ;  be- 
cause he  had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  any  deceit  in  his 
mouth.  Yet  it  pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him  ;  he  hath  put 
him  to  grief ;  when  thou  shalt  make  his  soul  an  offering  for 
sin,  he  shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  prolong  his  days,  and  the 
pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper  in  fils  hand.  He  shall  see 
of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied ;  by  his  knowl- 
edge shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many ;  for  he  shall 
bear  their  iniquities.  Therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion 
with  the  great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong ; 
because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death ;  and  he  was 
numbered  with  the  transgressors;  and  he  bare  the  sin  of 
many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors.*  The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me,  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek ;  he  hath 
sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  proclaim  liberty  to 
the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them  that  are 
bound  ;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
day  of  vengeance  of  our  God  ;  to  comfort  all  that  mourn ; 
to  appoint  unto  them  that  mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto  them 
beauty  for  ashes,  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  garment 
of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness  ;  that  they  might  be  called 
trees  of  righteousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord,  that  he  might 
be  glorified.!  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I 
will  raise  unto  David  a  righteous  Branch,  and  a  king  shall 
reign  and  prosper,  and  execute  judgment  and  justice  in  the 
earth.  In  his  days  Judah  shall  be  saved,  and  Israel  shall  dwell 
in  safety ;  and  this  is  the  name  whereby  he  shall  be  called. 
The  Lord  our  Righteousness. |  Turn  again,  O  virgin  of  Is- 
rael, turn  again  to  these  thy  cities.  How  long  wilt  thou  go 
about,  O  thou  backsliding  daughter?  for  the  Lord  hath  created 
a  new  thing  on  the  earth,  a  woman  shall  compass  a  man.^ 
Behold,  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call 
his  name  Immanuel.||  Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord, 
that  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  with  the  house  of  Judah ;  not  according  to  the  covenant 
which  I  made  with  their  fathers,  in  the  day  that  I  took  them 
by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  (which 

*  Isa.  liii.  t  Ibid.  Ixi.,  1,3.  t  Jer.  xxiii.,  5,  6. 

^  Jer.  xxxi.,  22.  Il  Isa.  vii.,  14. 


TO    A    MESSIAH.  155 

niy  covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was  an  husband  unto 
them,  saith  the  Lord).  But  this  snail  be  my  covenant  \/ith 
the  house  of  Israel ;  after  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  1  will 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts ; 
and  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.*  And  this  is 
the  name  wherewith  iie  shall  be  called,  the  Lord  (Jehovah) 
our  righteousness  t  And  I  will  set  up  one  Shepherd  over 
ihem,  and  he  shall  feed  them,  even  my  servant  David ;  he  shall 
feed  them,  and  he  shall  be  their  shepherd.  And  I  the  Lord 
will  be  their  God,  and  my  servant  David  a  prince  among  them : 
I  the  Lord  have  spoken  it.;}:  I  will  sanctify  my  great  name, 
which  was  profaned  among  the  heathen,  which  ye  have  pro- 
faned in  the  midst  of  them ;  and  the  heathen  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord,  saith  the  Lord  God,  when  I  shall  be  sancti- 
fied in  you  before  their  eyes.  I  will  also  save  you  from  all 
your  uncleannesses.^  And  in  the  days  of  these  kings  shall 
the  God  of  heaven  set  up  a  kingdom  which  shall  never  be 
destroyed.  H  And  the  kingdom  and  dominion,  and  greatness 
of  the  kingdom  under  the  whole  heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  Most  High,  whose  kingdom  is  an 
everlasting  kingdom,  and  all  dominions  shall  serve  and  obey 
him.^  Seventy  weeks  are  determined  upon  thy  people, 
and  upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  transgression,  and  to  make 
an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  to 
bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  the  vision 
and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy.  Know,  therefore, 
and  understand,  that  from  the  going  forth  of  the  command- 
ment to  restore  and  to  build  Jerusalem,  unto  the  Messiah 
the  Prince,  shall  be  seven  weeks,  and  threescore  and  two 
weeks  ;  the  street  shall  be  built  again,  and  the  wall,  even  in 
troublous  times.  And  after  threescore  and  two  weeks  shall 
Messiah  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself;  and  the  people  of  the 
Prince  that  shall  come  shall  destroy  the  city  and  the  sanc- 
tuary; and  the  end  thereof  shall  be  with  a  flood,  and  unto  the 
end  of  the  war  desolations  are  determined.  And  he  shall  con- 
firm th^  covenant  with  many  for  one  week ;  and  in  the  midst  of 
the  w^eek  he  shall  cause  the  sacrifice  and  the  oblation  to  cease, 
and  for  the  overspreading  of  abominations  he  shall  make  it  des- 
olate, even  unto  the  consummation,  and  that  determined  shall 
be  poured  upon  the  desolate.**  And  they  shall  pollute  the 
sanctuary  of  strength,  and  shall  takfe  away  the  daily  sacrifice, 
and  they  shall  place  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate. 
And  such  as  do  wickedly  against  the  covenant  shall  he  cor- 
rupt by  flatteries ;  but  the  people  that  do  know  their  God 
shall  be  strong  and  do  exploits.  And  they  that  do  under- 
stand among  the  people  shall  instruct  many ;  yet  they  shall 

*  Jer.  xxxi.,  31-33.         t  Tbid.  xxxiii.,  16.         t  Ezek.  xxxiv.,  23, 24 
^  Ezek.  xxxvi.,  23,  29     ||  Dan.  ii.,  44.  f  Ibid,  vii.,  27. 

**  Dan.  i^.,  24-27. 


'66  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

fall  by  the  sword,  and  by  flame,  by  captivity,  and  by  irpoil, 
many  days,*  For  the  children  of  Israel  shall  abide  many 
days  without  a  king,  and  witliout  a  prince,  and  without  a 
sacrifice,  and  without  an  image,  and  without  an  ephod,  and 
without  teraphim.  Afterward  shall  the  children  of  Israel 
return,  and  seek  the  Lord  their  God,  and  David  their  king, 
and  shall  fear  the  Lord  and  his  goodness  in  the  latter  days.f 
And  thou,  Bethlehem-Ephrala,  though  thou  be  little  among 
the  thousands  of  Judah,  yet  out  of  ihee  shall  he  come  forth 
unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel ;  whose  goings  forth 
have  been  of  old,  from  everlasting.^  And  I  will  shake  all 
nations,  and  the  desire  of  all  nations  shall  come ;  and  I  will 
fill  this  house  with  glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts. ^  Thus 
speaketh  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  saying,  behold  the  man  whose 
name  is  the  Branch  ;  and  he  shall  grow  up  out  of  his  place, 
and  he  shall  build  the  temple  of  the  Lord;  even  he  shall 
build  the  temple  of  the  Lord ;  and  he  shall  bear  the  glory, 
and  shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne ;  and  he  shall  be  a 
priest  upon  his  throne ;  and  the  counsel  of  peace  shall  be 
between  them  both.||  Rejoice  greatly,  O  daughter  of  Zion ; 
shout,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem ;  behold,  thy  king  cometh 
unto  thee ;  he  is  just,  and  having  salvation ;  lowly,  and  riding 
upon  an  ass,  and  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass.^  And  I 
took  my  staff,  even  Beauty,  and  cut  it  asunder,  that  I  might 
break  my  covenant  which  1  had  made  with  all  the  people. 
And  it  was  broken  in  that  day;  and  so  the  poor  of  the  flock 
that  waited  upon  me  knew  that  it  was  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
And  I  said  unto  them.  If  ye  think  good,  give  me  my  price ; 
and  if  not,  forbear.  So  they  weighed  for  my  price  thirty 
pieces  of  silver.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  me.  Cast  it  unto 
the  potter;  a  goodly  price  that  I  was  prized  at  of  them. 
And  I  took  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  cast  them  unto 
the  potter  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.**  And  I  will  pour  upon 
the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
the  spirit  of  grace  and  of  supplications  ;  and  they  shall  look 
upon  me  whom  they  have  pierced  ;  and  they  shall  mourn  for 
him  as  one  that  mourneth  for  his  only  Son,  and  shalt  be  in 
bitterness  for  him  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first- 
born.ft  Awake,  O  sword,  against  my  Shepherd,  and  against 
the  man  that  is  my  fellow,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts ;  smite 
the  Shepherd,  and  the  sheep  shall  be  scattered ;  and  I  will 
turn  my  hand  upon  the  little  ones.||  Behold,  I  will  send  my 
messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the  way  before  me ;  and 
the  Lord,  whom  ye  seek,  shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple, 
even  the  messenger  of  the  covenant  whom  ye  delight  in; 
behold,  he  shall  come,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts.     But  who 

»  Daniel  xi.,  31,  33.  f  Hos.  iii.,  45.  J  Mic.  v.,  7. 

^  Hag.  ii.,  7.  II  Zech.  vi.,  12,  13.         f  Ibid,  ix.,  9. 

♦•  Zach.  xi.,  10-13.  t+  Ibid,  xii,,  10  tt  Ibid.  «&.,  % 


TO    A    MESSIAH.  157 

may  abide  the  day  of  his  coming  ?  and  who  shall  stand  when 
he  appeareth  1  for  he  is  like  a  refiner's  fire,  and  like  fuller's 
soap ;  and  he  shall  sit  as  a  refiner  and  purifier  of  silver;  and 
he  shall  purify  the  sons  of  Levi,  and  purge  them  as  gold  and 
silver,  that  they  may  offer  unto  the  Lord  an  offering  in  right- 
eousness.* Behold,  I  will  send  unto  you  Elijah  the  prophet, 
before  the  coming  of  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord; 
and  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children, 
and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  the  fathers,  lest  I  come  and 
smite  the  earth  (land)  with  a  curse. f 

The  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  thus  explicitly  testify 
of  the  Messiah.  And  hence  the  expectation  of  his  coming 
has  been  the  common  faith  of  the  Jews  in  every  country 
and  in  every  age.  A  minute  comparison  will  subsequently 
be  instituted  between  those  things  which  were  foretold  con- 
cerning the  Messiah,  and  the  history  of  Jesus  and  the  doc- 
trine of  the  gospel.  The  fact  is  clear  that  a  Messiah  was 
foretold  ;  and  so  unquestionably  was  this  the  faith  of  the  Is- 
raelites before  the  coming  of  Christ,  that  in  "  the  Chaldee 
paraphrase  now  extant,  which  was  translated  and  read  in  the 
synagogues  long  prior  to  the  Christian  era,  there  is  express 
mention  of  the  Messias  in  above  seventy  places,  besides  that 
of  Daniel. "t 

It  was  not  the  exclusive  purpose  of  the  oracles  of  God  to 
show  that  his  soul  would  be  avenged  on  guilty  nations.  Nor 
was  the  seed  of  Jacob  chosen  as  a  peculiar  people,  to  be 
called  by  his  name,  that  the  Gentiles  should  have  rule  over 
them,  that  the  Israelites  should  be  carried  captive  into  Assyria, 
and  the  Jews  be  scattered  among  all  nations.  Jerusalem  was 
not  chosen  by  him  for  a  city  that  he  should  place  his  name 
there,  in  order  that  it  might  be  trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles. 
Nor  did  God  give  ordinances  and  statutes  for  his  worship, 
and  institute  a  priesthood  to  offer  sacrifice,  and  love  the 
gates  of  Zion  more  than  all  the  dwellings  of  Judah,  in  order 
that  finally  not  one  stone  of  the  temple  should  be  left  upon 
another,  and  that  the  abomination  of  desolation  should  stand  at 
last  in  the  holy  place  where  the  God  of  Israel  was  adored. 
The  history  of  the  creation  was  not  revealed  to  Moses,  nor 
did  the  Lord  bring  his  people  by  a  strong  hand  and  by  a 
mighty  arm  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  lead  them  through 
the  Red  Sea  and  through  the  desert,  giving  them  bread  from 
heaven  to  eat  and  water  from  the  smitten  rock  to  drink,  and 
place  them  in  the  land  promised  to  their  fathers,  and  set  his 
statutes  and  his  judgments  among  them,  that  the  end  of  all 
might  be  that  the  Romans  should  come  and  take  away  their 
place  and  nation.  Nor  yet  was  the  law  given  in  thunder  und 
lightning  from  Sinai,  that  it  might  eventually  be  superseded 

•  Mai.  iii.,  1-3.        f  Ibid,  iv.,  5,  6.        %  Pearson  on  the  Creed,  art,  2. 

o 


158  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

by  the  edicts  of  Caesar,  or  of  the  prince  of  the  people  that 
should  take  atoay  the  sceptre  from  Judah.  These  things,  in 
verification  of  his  word,  showed  that  there  was  a  God  in  Is- 
rael ;  but  they  were  not  the  end  of  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
Kings  of  the  earth  were  raised  up  to  be  the  executioners  of 
the  Divine  judgments ;  but  the  prophets,  by  predicting  these, 
were  installed  into  their  office  over  the  ruins  of  cities  that 
strove  against  the  Lord,  in  order  to  bear  witness  of  the  Mes- 
siah that  was  to  come.  The  Jewish  dispensation,  as  a  frame- 
work, did  not  fall  till  a  sure  foundation  was  laid  in  Zion. 
The  sceptre  was  not  to  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from 
between  his  feet,  till  Shiloh  should  come.  The  second  temple 
was  not  to  be  laid  in  ruins  till  the  desire'of  all  nations  should 
come  into  it.  The  genealogies  of  the  families  of  Judah  were 
not  to  be  lost  till  a  branch  should  spring  forth  from  the  root 
of  Jesse,  and  a  son  be  raised  unto  David,  whom  he  called 
Lord.  Bethlehem  was  not  to  be  given  up  to  the  Gentiles  till 
out  of  it  he  should  come  forth  who  was  to  be  iniler  in  Israel. 
The  covenant  with  Israel  was  not  to  be  broken  till  a  new 
and  everlasting  covenant  was  revealed.  The  city  and  the 
sanctuary  were  not  to  be  destroyed,  nor  sacrifice  and  oblation  to 
cease,  nor  desolations  determined,  until  the  consummation,  until 
the  Messiah  should  be  cut  off,  and  the  covenant  confirmed 
with  many ;  and  also  till  the  time  determined  upon  the  Jews 
and  upon  Jerusalem  had  come,  to  finish  transgression,  and  to 
make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity, 
and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal  up  the 
vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy. 

The  promise  of  a  Messiah  is  conjoined  with  the  first  de- 
nunciation against  sin,  and  with  the  last  threatening  of  judg- 
ment, recorded  at  the  commencement  and  close  of  the  Old 
Testament.  It  is  the  great  and  glorious  theme  of  all  the 
prophets.  His  coming  is  the  creed  of  the  Jews  in  every 
age  and  in  every  country.  The  assurance  of  it  is  ingrained 
throughout  the  whole  Mosaic  dispensation,  which,  without 
it,  would  have  been  a  mass  of  unmeaning  ceremonies  and 
an  intolerable  yoke  of  bondage ;  a  religion  more  limited  even 
in  its  purposed  range  than  any  other:  and  the  voice  of 
prophecy  would  have  been  nothing  but  an  anticipated  tale  of 
desolation ;  and,  contrary  to  the  whole  analogy  of  nature,  a 
work  in  which  the  hand  of  God  is  manifest  would  yet  have 
been  left  imperfect,  if  abrogated  statutes  that  merely  in  them- 
selves were  not  good  had  not  been  succeeded  by  an  everlasting 
righteousness;  it  sacrifice  was  to  cease,  and  yet  no  atonement 
had  been  made  for  sin ;  if  the  vision  and  prophecy  had  been 
sealed,  and  yet  no  Messiah  had  come :  and  the  worship  of 
the  God  of  Israel,  whose  word  by  the  prophets  shows  that  he 
is  Lord,  would,  together  with  the  precious  salvation,  have 
ceased  for  ever,  if  they  had  been  limited  at  once  to  the  seed 


TO    A    MESSIAH.  159 

of  Jacob  and  to  the  land  of  Judea.  To  abjure  the  behef  of 
a  Messiah  would,  on  the  part  of  any  Jew,  be  to  renounce 
the  faith  and  the  hope  of  Israel;  and  to  deny  it  would,  on 
the  part  of  any  Gentile,  be  to  deny  the  proved  inspiration  of 
the  prophets. 

Irrespective  of  the  testimony  given  in  the  New  Testament 
as  to  the  fulness  of  the  time  of  the  Redeemer's  advent,  other 
■fevrdence  plainly  shows  that  the  opinion  was  prevalent  over 
the  whole  East  that  the  predicted  time  of  his  appearing  had 
come  at  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  Tacitus,  in 
describing  the  fearful  signs  which  preceded  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem,  relates  that  "  many  were  persuaded  that  it 
was  contained  in  the  old  writings  of  the  priests,  that  at  that 
very  time  the  East  should  prevail,  and  the  Jews  should  have 
dominion,"  1.  v.,  c.  13.  And  Suetonius,  in  the  life  of  Ves- 
pasian, c.  i.,  n.  4,  says,  "  That  it  was  an  an(^ient  and  con- 
stant opinion  throughout  the  whole  East,  that  at  that  time 
those  who  came  from  Judea  should  obtain  the  dominion." 
And  certain  it  is,  as  an  historical  fact,  that,  from  the  days  of 
Abraham  to  the  present  hour,  there  never  was  any  other  pe- 
riod in  the  whole  history  of  the  Hebrew  race,  during  which, 
in  indication  of  the  credited  fulness  of  the  predicted  time, 
so  many  false  Christ's  appeared  and  deceived  many,  as  at 
the  very  season  when  Christianity  arose  and  Judaism  fell ; 
and  immediately  subsequent  to  which,  believers  in  Jesus 
spread  his  gospel,  and  the  Jews  were  scattered  throughout 
the  world,  in  similar  and  simultaneous  verification  of  the 
word  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophets.  And  from  whatever 
source  it  originated,  the  prediction  or  opinion  that  nature  was 
about  to  bring  forth  a  king  to  the  Romans,*  may  here,  at 
least,  demand  an  appropriate  allusion,  seeing  that  it  so 
wrought  on  the  fears  of  the  Romans  that  the  senate  decreed 
that  no  child  born  that  year  should  be  brought  up,  but  be  ex- 
posed. This  remarkable  decree — which  was  rendered  inop- 
erative in  a  manner  which  farther  exemplifies  the  credit  at- 
tached to  the  oracle,  through  the  influence  of  those  senators 
whose  wives  cherished  the  hope  of  giving  birth  to  the  great 
king — was  passed  in  the  very  year  in  which  Pompey  took 
Jerusalem ;  and  no  sooner  had  the  holy  city  yielded  to  the 
imperial,  than  the  conquest  was  thus  associated  with  the  fear 
which  agitated  Rome,  that  Nature,  or,  to  adopt  a  more  just 
and  intelligible  phraseology,  the  God  of  Nature,  was  about 
to  give  a  king  to  the  Romans,  though  a  child  that  had  not  then 
been  born.  Nor,  in  rigid  scrutiny  of  concurring  evidence  as 
to  the  belief  of  the  peculiar  or  precise  time  when  the  Messiah 
was  to  come,  or  a  greater  than  any  other  king  to  appear, 
Bhouid  the  fact  be  overlooked,  of  which  tens  of  thousands  of 

*■  Suetoiiius,  lib.  ii.,  sect,  92.    Quoted  by  Leslie. 


160        OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS 

witnesses  are  to  be  found  throughout  all  the  classical  schools 
of  Europe,  that  the  first  of  the  Latin  poets,  touching  for  once 
on  a  nobler  theme  than  his  wont,  paulo  niajora  canamus, 
proclaimed  the  approaching  birth  of  a  great  deliverer  of  the 
human  race  a  few  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ ;  and,  as 
if  copying  Isaiah  rather  than  Homer,  portrayed  the  blessings 
of  his  Divine  kingdom  in  strains  unmatched  by  heathen  poesy; 
as  if  Jesus  had  had  a  messenger  to  prepare  his  way  in  the 
capital  of  the  world,  as  well  as  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea. 

While  such  striking  coincidences,  peculiar  to  the  time,  and 
unprecedented  or  unparalleled  in  history,  may,  on  reflection, 
astound  the  reader,  if  prejudiced  against  the  Messiahship  of 
Jesus,  the  direct  testimony  of  Josephus  among  the  Jews,  and 
of  Tacitus  and  Suetonius  among  the  Gentiles,  confirms  the 
fact  of  the  general  expectation  of  the  coming  of  the  promised 
Messiah  about  the  very  period  of  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  era. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OF   THE    ORIGIN  AND    PROGRESS   OF   CHRISTIANITY. 

The  inspiration  of  the  prophets  of  Israel  being  visibly  and 
incontestibly  demonstrated  by  existing  facts;  the- credibility 
of  genuine  miracles  being  established,  and  the  great  argu- 
ment against  the  adequacy  of  any  testimony  in  their  con- 
firmation being  transferred  into  a  direct  evidence  of  inspira- 
tion ;  the  antiquity  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  being 
undeniable,  on  the  slightest  investigation,  they:. authenticity 
being  illustrated  even  by  modern  discoveries,  and  confirmed 
by  irrefragable  proof,  and  their  testimony  of  a  coming  Mes- 
siah being  explicit  and  abundant,  we  may  enter  on  the  kin- 
dred question  of  the  credibility  of  the  New  Testament  in  the 
full  knowledge  that  faith  in  the  Messiah  is  not  left  to  stand 
alone  on  the  testimony  of  man. 

The  birth,  the  life,  the  miracles,  the  death,  and  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus — who  professed  to  be  the  Messiah  spoken  of 
by  the  prophets,  whose  coming  the  Divine  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion predicted  and  prefigured — derive  not  the  full  measure  of 
credibility  which  pertains  to  them  from  all  that  men  have  re- 
corded or  could  have  recorded  concerning  these  marvellous 
events.  Human  testimony  may  singly  accredit  mere  human 
things,  for  which  no  other  guarantee  can  be  given  than  the 
word  or  the  writing  of  man,  and  the  certainty  of  which,  as 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  161 

affecting  only  temporary  and  perishing  interests,  needs  not 
to  be  tried  by  any  other  test  than  the  corresponding  narra- 
tives of  fallible  historians.  But  as  such  a  charge  never  oth- 
erwise devolved  on  human  testimony  as  that  which  was 
committed  to  the  witnesses  of  Jesus,  the  tidings  which  they 
bear  lay  claim  to  a  warrant  as  high  above  that  of  all  others 
as  their  importance  excels  theirs,  and  as  sure  and  sufficient 
for  the  confirmation  of  things  that  in  their  nature  and  order 
are  Divine,  to  all  who  will  hear  the  word  of  God  or  see  the 
evidence  which  he  gives,  as  any  testimony  of  man  could  be 
in  accrediting  things  that  are  natural.  The  spirit  of  proph- 
ecy, saith  the  Scripture,  is  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  And  the 
testimony  of  man  is  not,  unaided  and  alone,  to  be  put  in  its 
place,  or  to  be  made  chargeable  with  the  full  execution  of 
that  which  it  is  the  avowed  object  and  office  of  the  prophetic 
testimony  to  fulfil. 

Reverting,  then,  for  a  moment,  to  the  professed  connexion 
between  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets  and  the  credibility  of 
the  gospel,  a  connexion  so  close  and  inseparable  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  gospel  is,  that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah  of  whom 
the  prophets  testified ;  and  also  to  the  connexion  between 
the  Old  Testament  and  the  New,  similarly  close,  in  that  the 
one  is  professedly  the  completion  of  the  other,  it  may,  merely 
for  the  present,  be  in  the  remembrance  of  the  reader  that, 
prophecy  being  true  and  the  -Bible  being  genuine,  there  is 
thus  a  power  of  evidence  prepared  for  bearing  on  the  truths 
of  the  gospel  such  as  no  testimony  of  man  could  ever  have 
imparted. 

It  hath  seemed  meet  unto  Him  with  whom  wisdom  dwel- 
leth — and  the  truth  of  whose  word,  confirmed  in  all  past  ex- 
perience by  the  very  changes  of  human  things,  shall  stand, 
though  the  foundations  of  the  earth  be  shaken — to  make  the 
history  of  the  world  the  witness  of  his  word,  and  to  show, 
from  those  events  themselves  which  have  come  to  pass  upon 
the  earth,  and  which  have  not  only  been  recorded  by  histo- 
rians, but  which  any  man,  without  the  testimony  of  another, 
may  now  see  with  his  own  eyes,  that  the  words  of  the 
prophets  were  truly  the  oracles  of  God.  And  it  becomes  us, 
therefore,  in  investigating  the  credibility  of  the  gospel,  not 
to  rest  alone  on  the  testimony  of  man  while  Jesus  appealed 
to  a  higher,  or  to  strain  a  part  beyond  its  natural  powers  or 
limits  to  execute  singly  the  office  of  the  whole,  or  to  trench 
on  the  peculiar  province  of  the  testimony  of  God,  as  if  he, 
by  his  prophets,  had  never  once  testified  of  the  Messiah  or 
borne  witness  of  his  Son.  It  is  not  even  alleged  in  the  New 
'J'estament  that  the  faith  of  primitive  Christians,  who  were 
the  witnesses  of  miracles,  and  who  were  converted  by  apos- 
tles, rested  on  their  testimony  alone.  And  the  Jews  of  Berea 
were  declared  to  be  more  noble  than  those  of  Thessalonica, 
02 


162  OF    THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

ill  that  they  received  the  word  with  all  readiness  of  mind, 
and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily  whether  those  things  were  so. 

Seeing,  too,  that  miracles  are  not  contrary  to  experience, 
but  that  there  is  evidence  of  a  miracle,  the  greatest,  perhaps, 
recorded  in  Scripture,  all  inquiry  into  the  historical  testimo- 
ny of  the  origin  of  Christianity  is  not  precluded  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  facts  with  which  it  is  associated ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  conjoining  the  positive  evidence  of  inspiration 
with  the  credibility  of  miracles,  the  testimony  of  any  wit- 
nesses professedly  recording  the  history  of  the  Messiah 
would  be  found  to  be  inapplicable  and  untenable,  on  being 
compared  with  the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  if  it  testified  only 
of  human  knowledge  and  natural  events.  But  the  fulness  of 
evidence,  as  well  as  the  rights  of  truth,  forbid  that  the  slight- 
est undue  or  unforced  concession  should"  be  asked  of  the 
skeptic,  or  that  any  portion  of  the  testimony  of  Jesus  should 
be  stretched  in  the  least  beyond  its  just  measures  and  fair 
proportions  in  relation  to  the  whole.  And  although  the  ar- 
gument against  the  belief  of  miracles  is  not  only  demonstra- 
bly fallacious,  founded  on  a  fiction,  but  actually  confirmatory 
of  the  truth  which  it  was  designed  to  overthrow,  still  we  ask 
not,  and  we  need  not  ask,  that  the  credibility  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion  should  rest  on  any  human  testimony  alone,  how- 
ever perfect  it  might  be.  We  would  only  claim  that  the 
historical  evidence  of  the  origin  and  progress  of  Christianity 
be  fully,  and  fairly,  and  rigidly  investigated.  Or  the  invet- 
erate skeptic  may,  if  he  will,  as  more  congenial  to  his  feel- 
ings, enter  on  the  inquiry  on  the  supposition  of  the  falsehood 
of  the  Christian  faith,  in  order  to  ascertain,  more  carefully 
and  minutely  than  he  has  hitherto  done,  the  time  and  the 
manner  in  which,  as  he  conceives,  in  contradiction  to  an  apos- 
tle, the  cunningly  devised  fable  was  palmed  upon  the  world. 
And  without  conjuring  up  an  ideal  phantom,  but  looking  to 
the  nature  of  the  testimony  as  well  as  to  the  nature  of  the 
facts,  let  him  show,  if  he  can,  wherein  the  deficiency  of  that 
testimony  lies. 

It  is,  then,  to  the  historical  testimony  itself,  as  such,  that 
we  have  primarily  and  principally,  in  the  first  instance,  to 
look,  in  investigating,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  actual  rise  of 
Christianity  in  the  world :  for  as  to  the  nature  of  the  events 
recorded  in  the  gospel,  and  of  the  doctrine  which  it  unfolds, 
other  proofs  may  clearly  and  fully  be  found  to  concur  and 
to  give  a  direct  sanction  to  our  belief.  The  New  Testament 
is  in  every  man's  hand,  or  is  known  and  read  together  with 
the  Old,  at  least  tenfold  more  extensively  than  any  other 
book  ;  and  it  would  be  a  marvel  without  a  parallel  on  earth 
if  no  man  really  knew  from  whence  it  had  come,  or  by 
whom  or  at  what  time  it  had  been  written.  The  Christian 
religion  exists  and  is  professed,  though  in  various  forms,  as 


OP    CHRISTIANITY.  163 

the  only  true  faith,  wherever  civilization  prevails ;  v^hile 
every  other  system  of  religion  bears  striking  symptoms  of 
decay  and  early  dissolution,  and  cannot  withstand  the  light 
that  is  pervading  the  world  ;  and  while  Mohammedanism,  so 
long  its  rival  in  the  number  of  its  votaries,  can  now  no  more 
be  compared  to  it  than  the  pale  sinking  crescent,  the  thin 
extended  rim  of  the  setting  moon,  to  the  sun  in  the  heavens, 
dispelling  darkness  wherever  its  light  is  unobstructed,  and 
ever  brightening  as  the  clouds  which  obscured  it  pass  away  ; 
Christianity  bids  fair,  in  mere  human  prospect,  to  be  the 
only  religion  in  the  world.  But  looking  merely  to  what  it 
is,  and  to  the  extensive  recognition  of  its  Divine  authority, 
it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  its  origin  were  unknown  and 
undiscoverable,  and  if  no  positive,  certain,  and  indisputable 
evidence  of  the  actual  time  and  manner  of  its  rise  and  propa- 
gation could,  by  any  possibility,  be  attained  by  the  zealous 
researches  of  its  friends  or  the  prying  scrutiny  of  its  ene- 
mies 

But  m  approacnmg  the  testimony-which  all  history,  civil 
as  well  as  ecclesiastical,  bears  to  the  origin  and  rise  of  Chris- 
tianity, we  do  not  enter  a  labyrinth  of  fable,  where  we  might 
ever  grope  in  vain  without  once  grasping  the  truth  :  for 
never  was  the  way  of  investigation  more  completely  cleared, 
nor  were  ever  facts  more  palpable  to  the  sight  of  all  men. 
This  thing  was  neither  done,  nor  is  it  hid,  in  a  corner.  And 
were  it  not  that  the  varied  and  abundant  evidences  of  the 
truth  of  the  gospel  disclaim  any  assumption  destitute  of  the 
fullest  and  most  direct  demonstration,  we  might  at  once, 
from  the  clearness  and  prominence  of  both,  take  a  conjoint 
view  of  prophecy  and  of  history  in  respect  to  the  present 
extent,  the  past  corruptions,  the  early  propagation  of  Chris- 
tianity, as  all  history  concurs  in  describing  them ;  and  hence 
alone  show  that  it  has  not  been  left  without  the  witness  of 
God  and  the  corresponding  testimony  of  man.  And  detach- 
ed from  all  antecedent  credibility  that  pertains  to  it,  it  may 
not  only  be  averred,  without  the  hazard  of  denial  on  the  part 
of  any  reasonable  being,  that  there  is  only  one  history  of 
Christianity,  whether  given  by  friends  or  foes,  and  that  every 
adversary  may  be  challenged  to  produce  any  other  which,  in 
any  truth  or  reason,  could  ever  bear  a  hearing ;  but  also  that 
the  most  searching,  or  even  the  slightest  mvestigation,  must 
convince  every  candid  inquirer  that  never  on  earth  was  a 
similar  or  so  strong  an  attestation  borne  to  any  facts  in  the 
history  of  man  as  that  which  was  given  by  the  witnesses  of 
Jesus.  That  testimony  has  to  be  tried  whether  it  be  com- 
plete of  itself,  and  be  infallibly  substantiated  as  such,  so  far, 
in  the  first  place,  as  human  testimony  can  be.  It  may  be 
put  to  the  rack,  as  these  witnesses  were,  that  it  may  bear 
every  tr-al;  and  the  more  searching  the  scrutiny,  it  will  be 


164  OF   THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

the  better  approved  as,  of  itself,  genuine  and  unimpeacha- 
ble ,  and  it  may  stand  singly  at  the  bar  of  reason,  claiming 
a  verdict  for  itself,  as  lacking  no  evidence  that  the  testimony 
of  Jesus  has  been  borne  to  the  world,  and  that  nothing  is 
wanting  to  the  credibility  of  the  gospel  which  it  has  been 
charged  to  impart. 

The  sophistry  of  Jesuitical  extraction,  which  their  vaunt- 
ed argument  displays,  could  gild  a  falsehood  with  a  most 
deceptious  plausibility,  but  could  not  disguise  the  inherent 
suspicion  it  betrays,  that  the  testimony  itself  was  not  to  be 
touched ;  and,  after  its  fallacy  is  seen,  it  is  a  tacit  confes- 
sion of  the  power  of  that  very  testimony,  with  which,  being 
unable  to  grapple,  the  wily  speculatists  shrunk  from  the  en- 
counter. Evasion,  which  was  their  only  wisdom,  should 
have  been  their  only  boast.  Unbelievers,  in  their  fancied 
security  and  success,  have  not  always  proved  aright  the 
quality  of  their  boasting,  nor  of  their  "  great  argument"  of 
everlasting  use.  Retreat,  though  successful,  is  scarcely  re- 
puted as  the  choicest  theme  for  glory  or  the  first  claim  for 
triumph.  But  slight  is  the  hope  of  safety  when,  instead  of 
having  escaped  for  ever  from  indomitable  foes,  the  fugitives 
must  stand  before  an  unbroken  army  with  banners.  And 
never,  in  the  contest  for  historical  truth,  was  there  ranged 
on  the  field  of  controversy  such  an  impenetrable  mass  as 
"  the  noble  army  of  martyrs,"  flanked  on  each  side  by  cap- 
tive enemies,  the  full  force  of  whose  testimony  the  evasive 
foes  of  Christian  truth,  when  all  ambush  fails  them,  and 
when  the  phantom  in  which  they  trusted  has  vanished,  have 
yet  to  encounter. 

The  testimony  of  a  heathen,  vouched  by  a  skeptic,  may 
take  the  lead  in  this  portion  of  the  Christian  evidence ;  and 
all  reasoning  would  be  lost  on  those  who  would  discredit  it. 
Tacitus,  an  eminent  historian,  thus  describes  the  origin  of 
the  name  and  faith  of  Christians,  and  the  persecutions  which 
they  suffered  in  Home,  the  capital  of  the  world,  at  so  early  a 
date  as  thirty  years  after  the  death  of  Christ.  At  that  pe- 
riod "  they  were  commonly  known,"  as  he  relates,  "by  the 
name  of  Christians.  The  author  of  that  name  was  Christ, 
who,  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  was  put  to  death  as  a  crimi- 
nal, under  the  procurator  Pontius  Pilate.  But  this  pestilent 
superstition,  checked  for  a  while,  broke  out  afresh,  and  spread 
not  only  over  Judea,  where  the  evil  originated,  but  also  in 
Rome,  where  all  that  is  evil  on  the  earth  finds  its  way  and 
is  practised.  At  first  those  only  were  apprehended  who 
confessed  themselves  of  that  sect ;  afterward  a  vast  multi- 
tude discovered  by  them  ;  all  of  whom  were  condemned,  not 
so  much  for  the  crime  of  burning  the  city  as  for  their  en- 
mity to  mankind.  Their  executions  were  so  contrived  as  to 
expose  them  to  derision  and  contempt.    Some  were  covered 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  165 

Dver  with  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  that  they  might  be  torn  to 
pieces  by  dogs ;  some  were  crucified  ;  while  others,  having 
been  daubed  over  with  combustible  materials,  were  set  up 
for  lights  in  the 'nighttime,  and  thus  burned  to  death.  For 
these  spectacles  Nero  gave  his  own  gardens,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  exhibited  there  the  diversions  of  the  circus; 
sometimes  standing  in  the  crowd  as  a  spectator,  in  the  habit 
of  a  charioteer,  and  at  other  times  driving  a  chariot  himself : 
until  at  length  these  men,  though  really  criminal  and  deserv- 
ing exemplary  punishment,  began  to  be  commiserated,  as 
people  who  were  destroyed,  not  out  of  regard  to  the  public 
welfare,  but  only  to  gratify  the  cruelty  of  one  man."  (Taci- 
tus, b.  XV.,  c.  44.) 

"  The  most  skeptical  criticism,"  says  Gibbon,  "  is  obliged 
to  respect  the  truth  of  this  important  fact,  and  the  integrity 
of  this  <elebrated  passage  of  Tacitus.  The  former  is  con- 
firmed by  the  diligent  and  accurate  Suetonius,  who  mentions 
the  punishment  which  Nero  inflicted  upon  the  Christians 
Thf^  hitter  maybe  proved  by  the  consent  of  the  most  ancient 
manuscripts  ;  by  the  inimitable  character  of  Tacitus  ;  by  his 
reputation,  which  guarded  his  text  from  the  interpolations  of 
pious  fraud ;  and  by  the  purport  of  his  narration."* 

Thus,  on  testimony  which,  for  incontrovertible  rieasons, 
the  most  skeptical  criticism  is  obliged  to  respect,  it  is  distinctly 
related  that  Christians  were  commonly  known  by  that  name 
in  Rome,  when  those  who  had  been  born  at  the  time  of  the 
death  of  Christ  had  scarcely  reached  the  years  of  manhood  ; 
that  they  had  their  origin  and  their  name  from  Christ ;  that 
he  had  been  put  to  death  as  a  criminal ;  and  that  that  event 
had  taken  place  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius  and  the  procurator- 
ship  of  Pontius  Pilate.  And  thus,  on  the  authority  of  a  stig- 
matizer  of  the  faith,  some  of  the  leading  articles  of  the 
Christian's  creed  meet  a  direct  and  inmiediate  confirmation, 
that  Christ  "suffered  under  Pontius  Pilate,  was  crucified, 
and  died." 

Both  the  place  of  the  origin  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  its 
early  and  rapid  propagation,  are,  on  the  high  authority  of  the 
same  historian,  whose  partialities  and  prejudices  were  all 
against  it,  alike  obvious  as  its  date.  Though  checked  for  a 
time,  as  the  death  of  its  "  author"  might  well  have  seemed 
to  give  the  deathblow  to  his  cause,  the  rehgion  of  one  who 
had  been  executed  as  a  malefactor  having  become  the  doc- 
trine of  the  cross,  it  broke  out  anew,  not  only  in  Judea,  but 
extended  unto  Rome ;  and  there  numbered  a  vast  multitude 
of  adherents,  who,  in  suffering  for  the  name  which  they  bore 
from  their  master,  were  faithful  unto  the  death. 

So  unnatural  may  the  trials  and  tribulations  through  which 

*  Gibbon's  Hist.,  vol.  it.,  p.  407,  408. 


166        OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS 

Christians  had  to  pass  seem  to  many  whose  feelings  are  hu- 
manized by  the  influence  of  the  gospel,  and  to  whom  the 
thought  of  the  brutal  exhibitions  that  formed  the  pastime  of 
the  ancient  Romans  is  revolting,  that  some  lurking  doubt 
may  cleave  to  their  minds,  if  prone  to  suspicion  while  peru- 
sing the  records  of  Christian  marlyrology,  that  the  narrative 
may  be  overcharged,  and  that  the  cruelties  which  were  ac- 
tually inflicted  might  possibly  have  received  some  slight  ex- 
aggeration from  the  partiality,  perhaps  unconscious,  of  their 
sympathizing  eulogists.  But  what  is  the  first  description,  in 
profane  history,  associated  with  the  name  of  Chrislians  1  In 
the  gardens  of  the  emperor  of  Rome,  open  to  the  citizens, 
public  spectacles  were  exhibited  of  varieties  of  tortures, 
rivalling  each  other  in  refined  barbarity,  inflicted  on  a  vast 
multitude,  all  condemned  to  death.  Intermixed  with  frivo- 
lous diversions  and  scenes  of  mirth,  and  exposed  to  derision 
and  contempt  in  the  very  act  and  agony  of  their  executions, 
are  to  be  seen  men  clad  with  the  skins  of  beasts,  and,  as 
such,  devoured  by  dogs  ;  others,  to  vary  the  worse  than  sav- 
age sport,  are  nailed  to  crosses  and  expiring  slowly,  while 
their  yet  surviving  brethren  in  name  and  fate,  to  lengthen 
out  the  horrid  scene  beyond  the  limits  of  the  day,  were,  by 
the  insatiable  cruelty  of  Nero,  covered  over  with  inflamma- 
ble materials  to  illuminate  the  darkness  while  they  were 
burning  to  death.  Juvenal,  the  contemporary  of  Tacitus 
and  Suetonius,  in  pointing  his  satire  against  the  cruelty  of 
Nero,  could  only,  by  a  more  minute  description,  complete 
the  picture,  which  profane  history  presents,  of  the  cruelties 
which  that  savage  emperor  exercised  against  the  Christians, 
till  those  who  detested  began  to  commiserate  them.  The 
worst  punishment  he  could  threaten  was  that  of  those  "  who 
stand  burning  in  their  own  flame  and  smoke,  their  head  be- 
ing held  up  by  a  stake  fixed  to  their  chin,  till  they  make  a 
long  stream  (of  blood  and  running  sulphur)  on  the  ground."* 
The  rapid  diff'usion  of  Christianity,  the  violent  persecu- 
tions to  which  its  professors  were  subjected  from  the  very 
name  which  they  bore,  and  the  vindication  of  their  charac- 
ter from  the  imputation  of  evil  practices,  in  a  moral  sense, 
are  set  forth  in  terms  as  clear  and  decisive  as  could  be 
wished,  in  a  public  and  authoritative  document  of  undoubted 
accuracy,  forming  as  invaluable  a  historical  treasure  as  the 
testimony  of  Tacitus,  which  will  be  found  at  large  in  the 
Appendix.  The  frequent  quotation  of  such  documents, 
which  are  familiar  to  thousands,  only  shows  the  greater  in- 
excusableness  of  unbelief  in  purely  historical  truths,  and  ex- 
poses the  eflrontery  of  those  who,  with  a  vain  show  of  sci- 
ence, set  their  face  against  facts  -which  none  could  deny  but 

*  Lardner,  vol.  vi.,  p,  638. 


OF  CHRISTIANITY.  167 

from  the  most  gross  ignorance  or  the  most  wilful  misrepre- 
sentation. And  any  such  attempt  can  only  prove  how  low, 
jn  our  day,  skepticism  has  sunk,  and  to  what  an  extremity  of 
weakness,  in  argument,  it  is  reduced. 

Phny,  the  governor  of  Bithynia,  a  Roman  province  situ- 
ated at  nearly  the  extremity  of  Asia  Minor  farthest  from 
Judea,  having  suspended  the  execution  of  the  Christians,  in 
the  seeming  fear  of  thereby  dispeopling  his  government, 
sought  the  resolution  of  his  difficulties  and  doubts  from  the 
Emperor  Trajan.  And  thus  are  we  indebted  for  a  most  ex- 
phcit  statement  of  the  case,  after  due  and  rigorous  examine 
tion,  in  the  most  confidential  and  unexceptionable  form  whic;' 
could  well  be  conceived.  While  nothing  could  have  beeu  - 
more  notorious  in  Rome  than  a  public  spectacle  in  the  royal 
gardens  thrown  open  for  the  purpose,  nothing  more  authori- 
tative could  come  from  a  province  than  the  appeal  and  me- 
morial of  the  governor ;  and  nothing  could  have  been  more 
undisguised  than  the  expression  of  his  private  sentiments  to 
the  eminent  Trajan,  in  seeking  the  guidance  of  his  authority 
and  judgment  as  his  emperor  and  his  friend;  while  no 
case  could  have  demanded  a  more  free  and  unreserved  ex- 
position of  the  circumstances  and  facts  than  the  act  of  sub- 
mitting them  for  his  resolution  and  decision.  And  that  no 
part  of  the  testimony  may  be  wanting,  the  answer  of  the 
emperor  is  also  on  record. 

From  Pliny's  epistle  it  is  now  as  clear  to  us  as  it  was  then 
to  Trajan  (A.  D.  112),  that,  ignorant  of  the  practice  otherwise 
adopted  in  the  examination  and  punishment  of  Christians,  a 
Roman  governor,  the  elegant  Pliny,  doubted  whether  aZ/, 
both  old  and  young,  should  be  indiscriminately  punished,  and 
whether  they  held  fast  their  faith  or  abjured  it;  whether  the 
very  name  alone,  without  any  other  crime,  was  a  warrant 
for  execution  :  that,  after  a  third  interrogatory  and  confes- 
sion, sentence  of  death  was  immediately  executed,  such  in- 
flexible obstinacy  silencing  every  doubt  :  that  Christians, 
having  the  privilege  of  Roman  citizens,  were  sent  to  Rome 
to  be  judged:  and  that  many  had  been  tried  who  were  ac- 
cused on  a  mere  anonymous  libel — a  libel  of  the  name  of 
Christian — some  of  whom  invoked  the  heathen  gods,  wor- 
shipped the  image  of  the  emperor,  offered  up  oblations  to  it 
in  the  manner  of  the  heathen,  and  blasphemed  Christ ;  and 
the  falsehood  of  the  accusation  against  them  being  thus 
proved,  as  none  of  these  things,  it  was  said,  any  true  Chris- 
tian could  ever  be  compelled  to  do,  they  were  held  free  from 
the  punishment  due  to  the  name,  while  others,  charged  in 
like  manner  with  the  crime,  had  renounced  the  faith  they 
once  had  professed.  Yet  the  epistle  farther  bears,  that,  even 
on  the  testimony  of  these  confessed  apostates,  the  only  prac- 
tice termed  evil  with  which  they  were  justly  chargeable  was 


168  OF    THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

to  meet  together  before  daybreak  on  a  stated  day,  and  al- 
ternately to  sing  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  to  a  God,  and  to  bind 
themselves  by  an  oath  (literally  sacrament)  that  they  would 
not  do  anythnig  that  was  evil,  nor  be  guilty  of 'theft,  pilfery, 
or  adultery,  nor  break  their  promise,  dior  refuse  to  restore 
whatever  was  committed  to  their  hands.  We  farther  learn, 
that  when  even  such  witnesses,  though  recanting  their  faith 
to  save  their  lives,  and  though  long  privy  to  all  the  counsels 
and  the  habits  of  those  who  bore  the  name  of  Christians, 
could  disclose  nothing  that  militated  against  it  in  a  moral 
view,  or  justified  their  condemnation  to  death,  the  Roman 
governor,  in  the  full  exercise  of  official  zeal,  scrupled  not  to 
try  whether  torture  might  not  extort  from  female  weakness 
some  farther  disclosure  ;  yet  there  was  nothing  found  but, 
as  the  polished  heathen  chose  to  term  it,  an  evil  and  extrav- 
agant superstition.  It  would  have  implied  a  culpable  dere- 
liction of  duty,  and  an  ignorance  inexcusable  in  a  Roman 
governor,  had  he  needed  any  evidence  to  prove  that  which, 
on  his  own  showing,  must  have  been  patent  to  all.  And  no 
witnesses  were  called  to  prove  the  prevalence  of  Christian- 
ity at  a  time  when  it  already  threatened  the  religion  of  the 
empire  with  destruction.  But,  from  his  own  knowledge  of 
facts,  which,  from  their  very  nature,  were  notorious,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  so  important  to  the  state  as  to  call  forth  such 
an  appeal  to  the  emperor,  Pliny,  while  he  takes  credit  to 
himself  for  having  somewhat  mitigated  the  evil,  broadly  and 
unequivocally  relates  that  Christianity,  which  he  terms  a 
superstition,  was  spread  like  a  contagion,  not  only  in  cities 
and  towns,  but  also  in  country  villages,  and  had  affected 
many  of  each  sex,  of  every  age,  and  of  every  rank.  The 
temples  had  been  almost  forsaken,  the  holy  solemnities  had 
been  long  intermitted,  and  few  purchasers  of  the  sacrifice 
had  been  previously  seen,  till  brought  back  by  persecution 
to  paganism. 

The  policy  of  the  emperor  of  Rome,  like  that  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  Bithynia,  was  to  reclaim  the  Christians  to  idolatry. 
And,  according  to  the  answer  of  Trajan,  those  who,  on  ac- 
cusation, should  renowice  all  faith  in  Christ,  and  give  proof 
of  abjuring  it  by  offering  supplications  to  the  gods,  were  to 
become  the  objects  of  imperial  clemency.  But  the  mandate 
was  otherwise  brief,  that  those  who  refused  to  abjure  were 
to  be  punished.  The  name  of  Christian,  if  not  renounced, 
was  of  itself  a  crime,  the  proof  of  which  was  followed  by 
punishment. 

A  single  case  or  experiment  serves  to  illustrate  a  prin- 
ciple ;  and  a  single  decision  by  the  supreme  authority  estab- 
lishes the  law.  An  epistle  from  a  Roman  governor,  such  as 
that  of  Pliny,  and  the  rule  of  an  emperor,  in  answer,  like 
Trajan's — two  of  the  ablest,  the  best,  and  the  most  humane 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  169 

rulers,  that  the  Roman  empire  in  those  times  could  boast  of — 
maj'^  suffice,  in  addition  to  the  testimony  of  Tacitus,  corrobora- 
ted by  that  of  others,  to  illustrate  the  condition  of  Christians 
and  the  prevalence  of  the  gospel  in  the  earliest  ages  of  the 
church. 

But  we  are  not  restricted  to  their  testimony  alone.  Our 
next  witness  of  this  class  is  the  next  emperor.  The  edict 
of  Trajan  sufficed  for  the  legal  condemnation  of  those  who 
vvere  justly  chargeable  with  the  name  of  Christian,  and  who 
were  convicted  of  inflexible  obstinacy,  worthy  of  punish- 
ment, by  adhering  to  their  faith  ;  but  the  same  imperial  edict 
which  thus  legalized  and  enjoined  their  condemnation  was 
not  sufficient  to  restrain  the  popular  violences  against  them, 
nor  to  guard  against  the  danger  that  pagans  might  suffer  in 
their  stead.  And  Adrian,  the  immediate  successor  of  Tra- 
jan, importuned  by  Serenius  Granianus,  the  proconsul,  and 
moved,  it  may  be,  by  the  "  rational,  eloquent,  and  persuasive 
apologies"  of  Quadratus  and  Aristides,  issued  a. rescript  to 
Minucius  Fundanus,  the  proconsul  of  Asia,  permitting  the 
people  of  the  province  to  appear  publicly  and  to  charge  the 
Christians  in  a  legal  manner,  but  strictly  prohibiting  them 
from  proceeding  against  them  by  importunate  demands  and 
loud  clamour  only.* 

Besides  the  rescript  of  Adrian,  quoted  at  length  by  Lard- 
ner,  a  letter  of  the  same  emperor  to  Servianus  the  consul 
(A.  D.  134),  his  sister's  husband,  is  preserved  by  Vopiscus, 
one  of  the  writers  of  the  Augustan  history,  from  which  let- 
ter it  appears,  to  adopt  the  remarks  of  Lardner,  "  that  the 
Christians  were  numerous  at  Alexandria  and  in  other  parts 
of  Egypt  when  Adrian  was  in  that  country ;  which  certainly 
is  very  remarkable,  that  in  a  century  after  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  he  should  have  so  many  followers  in  Asia  and 
Egypt,  as  is  manifest  from  this  one  emperor's  authentic  wri- 
tings. Without  any  countenance  from  the  civil  government, 
and  under  a  great  deal  of  opposition  from  it,  as  well  as  from 

*"  By  '  importunate  demands  and  loud  clamours,'  or,  in  other  words,  by 
*  clamorous  petitions,'  learned  men  generally  understand  the  popular  cry  of 
those  times,  '  The  Christians  to  the  lions.'  Nor  was  it  an  unusual  thing, 
as  Valesius  observes  in  his  note  upon  the  place,  for  the  people  at  Rome  or 
in  the  provinces,  in  the  time  of  public  shows,  when  they  were  got  together 
in  the  theatre,  by  loud  cries  and  a  tumultuous  behaviour  to  gain  their  will 
of  the  presidents,  and  even  of  the  emperor  himself  This  method  had 
been  practised  against  the  Christians.  And  it  is  likely  that  men  were 
often  brought  before  the  presidents  without  distinct  proofs.  The  emperor 
was  apprehensive  that  evil-minded  men  should  sometimes  hurry  on  to  death 
men  who  were  not  Christians.  Therefore  he  directs  the  proconsul  that 
none  should  be  punished  as  Christians  without  a  fair  and  public  trial  be- 
fore himself  in  court." — Lardner,  vol.  vii ,  p.  94,  95.  And  thus  were  be- 
lievers in  Jesus  both  hated  of  all  men,  and  brought  before  kings  and  rulers  for 
his  name^s  sake. 

P 


170         OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  PR0GRES8 

most  Other  ranks  of  men,  and  especially  from  the  lower  sort 
of  people,  Christ's  bishops  were  already  become  as  consid- 
erable as  the  priests  of  Serapis," 

Such  was  the  notoriety  of  the  sufferings  of  Christians,  the 
spirit,  unconquerable  by  pain  and  unchecked  by  the  love  of 
life,  with  which  they  triumphed  »ver  tribulation,  and  bore 
their  testimony  in  unshaken  faithfulness  unto  death,  that,  m 
the  close  of  the  first  century  and  the  beginning  of  the  second, 
they  formed  the  butt  of  ridicule  to  the  man  of  wit,  and  af- 
forded ready  illustrations  of  seeming  obstinacy  and  madness 
to  such  moralists  as  heathenism  could  boast  of.  The  vol- 
untary martyrdom  of  Christians  formed  to  Martial  the  point 
of  an  epigram.  And  no  folly  could  seem  greater  to  a  man  of 
wit  and  of  the  world,*than  that  men  should  submit  to  torture 
and  to  death  when  a  word  from  their  own  lips  would  have 
saved  them.  Epictetus,  the  celebrated  moralist,  unversed 
in  motives  that  could  change  selfishness  into  charity  and  over- 
master the  love  of  life,  could  only,  in  his  spiritless  moral 
science,  which  felt  not  the  sustaining  power  of  a  Divine  prin- 
ciple, attribute  the  last  trial  and  triumph  of  faith  to  habit  or 
to  madness,  as  the  best  solution  he  could  guess  at  of  the 
moral  phenomenon.  "  Is  it  possible,"  he  asks,  "  that  a  man 
may  arrive  at  this  temper,  and  become  indifferent  to  those 
things,  from  madness  or  from  habit,  as  the  Galileans  V*  The 
same  unshaken  fortitude,  in  testifying  unto  the  death,  con- 
tinued to  characterize  the  believers  in  Christ  during  the  first 
centuries  of  our  era,  while  faitb  iu  Christ  was  tried  by  per- 
secution. And  Marcus  Aurelius  ascribes  it  to  obstinacy  : 
"  Let  this  preparation  of  the  mind  (for  death)  arise  from  its 
own  judgment,  and  not  from  obstinacy,  like  the  Chris tiansy^ 

But  it  was  not  alone  by  their  fortitude  in  suffering  that 
Christians  in  these  early  and  trying  times  were  a  "  peculiar 
people,"  distinguished,  according  to  the  testimony  of  their 
enemies,  from  a  world  lying  in  wickedness.  It  is  written  in 
the  gospel  that  Jesus  said,  "  By  this  shall  all  men  know  that 
ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to  another."  And  a 
heathen,  describing  the  general  character  which  Christians 
bore,  and  marking  a  peculiarity  no  less  singular  and  striking 
than  their  constancy  in  death  and  their  spirit  that  rose  above 
the  fear  of  it,  thus  testifies  concerning  them  : 

"  It  is  incredible  what  expedition  they  use  when  any  of 
their  friends  are  known  to  be  in  trouble.  In  a  word,  they 
spared  nothing  upon  such  an  occasion ;  for  these  miserable 
men  have  no  doubt  that  they  shall  be  immortal  and  live  for 
ever :  therefore  they  contemn  death,  and  many  surrender 
themselves  to  sufferings.     Moreover,  their  first  lawgiver  has 

♦  Lardner's  Credibility,  vol.  vii.,  p.  88.    Stereotype  edition. 
t  Marc.  Aural.  Med.,  1.  xi.,  c.  3,  cited  by  Lardner,  Palev,  &c. 


,  OF    CHRISTIANITY.  171 

taught  them  that  they  are  all  brethren,  when  once  they  have 
turned  and  renounced  the  gods  of  the  Greeks,  and  worship 
this  master  of  theirs,  who  was  crucified,  and  engage  to  live 
according  to  tlieir  laws.  They  have  also  a  sovereign  con- 
tempt for  all  the  things  of  this  world,  and  look  upon  them 
as  common,  and  trust  one  another  with  them  without  any 
particular  security."* 

The  force  of  unimpeachable  evidence  is  such,  that  even 
the  skeptical  historian  is  constrained  to  admit  that  "the  prim- 
itive Christian,"  to  use  the  words  of  Gibbon,  "  demonstrated 
his  faith  by  his  virtues."  He  relates  that  they  were  "  inured 
to  chastity,  temperance,  economy,  and  all  the  sober  and  do- 
mestic virtues  ;"  and  that  they  were  exercised  in  "  the  habits 
of  humility,  meekness,  and  patience.  The  more  they  were 
persecuted,  the  more  closely  they  adhered  to  each  otlfer. 
Their  mutual  charity  and  unsuspecting  confidence  has  been 
remarked  by  infidels."  And,  according  to  his  standard  of 
holiness,  "  their  errors  were  derived  from  an  excess  of  vir- 
tue."! 

In  investigating  the  origin  and  rise  of  Christianity  in  the 
world,  we  thus  find,  without  reference  to  a  single  Christian 
authority,  that,  at  a  time  when,  according  both  to  Jewish  and 
heathen  historians,  the  expectation,  founded  on  ancient 
prophecies,  of  one  coming  from  Judea  who  should  reign  over 
the  nations,  was  universal  over  the  whole  East,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  author  of  the  Christian  faith,  from  whom  Christians  took 
their  name,  was  condemned  to  death  as  a  criminal,  and  was 
crucified  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  and  while  Pontius 
Pilate  was  procurator  of  Judea.  The  Christian  religion, 
having  originated  in  that  country,  was  speedily  propagated 
among  distant  nations,  extended  to  the  farthest  extremities 
of  Asia  Minor,  and  reached  unto  Rome,  where  it  numbered 
a  vast  multitude  of  believers  in  the  space  of  thirty  years 
after  the  death  of  its  founder.  In  a  single  province,  the  con- 
verts to  the  faith  of  Christ  were  so  numerous  within  the  pe- 
riod of  forty  years  thereafter,  that  the  heathen  temples  were 
deserted,  and  the  sacrifices  remained  unpurchased,  buyers 
being  wanting  to  purchase  the  very  meat  that  had  been  of- 
fered to  idols.  Christianity  thus  prevailed  notwithstanding 
the  relentless  persecutions  to  which  its  professors  were  sub- 
jected. The  very  name  of  Christian  exposed  them  to  oblo- 
quy, contempt,  and  every  indignity,  as  also  to  the  greatest  of 
bodily  sufferings,  and  to  death  in  the  most  savage  forms. 
Many  voluntarily  confessed  that  they  were  Christians,  when 
their  own  word  was  thus  made  the  sure  warrant  for  their 
execution;  and  neither  threat  nor  torture  could  constrain 

*  Luciande  Morte  Peregrini,  t.  i.,  p.  565,  ed.  Graev.     Lardner,  vii.,  279. 
t  Hist,  of  Dechne  and  Fall  of  Roman  Empire,  vol.  ii.,  p.  318,  319. 


172  OF   THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS  ^ 

them  to  speak  evil  of  the  name  of  Jesus,  or  bow  down  to  an 
idol.  To  be  accused  and  to  be  convicted  of  being  a  Chris- 
tian was  a  crime  punishable  with  death ;  and  yet  when  life, 
thus  forfeited,  was  proffered  at  the  seemingly  easy  price  of 
any  act  of  recantation,  they  chose  rather  that  their  bodies 
should  be  impaled,  or  burned,  or  torn  to  pieces  by  the  wild 
beasts,  than  deny  their  Master;  and  that  their hps  should  be 
sealed  for  ever  rather  than  utter  one  word  to  disclaim  the 
faith  of  a  Christian.  While  such  evidence  is  given  of  the 
time  and  the  manner  of  Christ's  death,  and  of  the  rapid  and 
wide  diffusion  of  his  faith,  after  a  momentary  suspension 
subsequently  to  that  event,  and  while  such  testimony  is  borne 
to  the  faithfulness  in  suffeiiiigs  which  characterized  the 
Christians  to  the  astonishment  of  their  enemies,  their  moral 
character  is  also  drawn  in  fairer  terms  than  they  themselves 
would  have  boasted  of,  though  merely  descriptive  of  their 
practices  and  habits,  as  taken  from  the  life,  by  those  who  ca- 
luminated  their  creed.  Their  enemies  being  witnesses,  there 
was  no  offence  w^ith  which  they  were  chargeable,  or  of 
which,  after  the  severest  and  most  inquisitorial  scrutiny, 
they  could  be  found  guilty,  but  that  alone  of  the  reputed 
crime  of  being  addicted  and  devoted  to  a  vile  and  pernicious 
superstition — pernicious  only,  it  would  seem,  to  sin  in  them- 
selves, and  to  the  prevalence  of  idolatry  and  vice  in  the 
world.  Even  the  exercise  of  their  religion,  on  the  showing 
of  their  persecutors,  interfered  not  with  the  duties  of  life — 
for  it  was  before  daybreak  that  they  met  to  worship  their 
Saviour  and  their  God.  And  such  was  their  obedience  to 
the  powers  that  were,  even  though  idolatrous  and  persecu- 
ting, that,  when  commanded,  they  desisted  from  this  practice 
The  only  obligation  by  which  they  were  mutually  bound 
was  the  sacred  one,  as  an  act  of  their  faith,  of  abjuring  the 
commission  of  sin.  And  they  were  not  less  distinguished 
by  the  manner  in  which  they  discharged  the  active  duties, 
as  well  as  the  passive  virtues,  of  their  Christian  profession. 
Their  fearlessness  and  contempt  of  death,  their  voluntary 
and  ready  surrender  of  themselves  to  penal  sufferings,  not 
generated  by  stoical  apathy  or  affected  insensibility,  were 
united  to  the  tenderest  sympathy  for  their  brethren  in  dis- 
tress, marked  by  a  disinterestedness  which  spared  nothing, 
and  an  alacrity  in  relieving  them  which  seemed  incredible 
to  their  enemies.  Having  renounced  the  gods  of  the  Greeks, 
and  worshipping  their  Master  who  was  crucified,  they  en- 
gaged 10  live  according  to  his  laws  as  brethren,  which  their 
lawgiver  had  said  that  all  believers  were.  And  the  saying 
might  as  well  have  been  rife  among  the  heathen,  behold 
how  Christians  love  !  as  with  equal  truth  it  could  be  said,  be- 
hold how  Christians  can  die  ! 

Such,  on  the  testimony  of  our  enemies,  being  the  origin 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  173 

of  the  Christian  name,  and  the  novelty  at  that  period  of  the 
Christian  doctrine ;  such  the  opposition  it  encountered,  its 
author  cut  off,  despised  by  men  and  abhorred  by  the  nation, 
the  kings  of  the  earth  setting  themselves  against  him  ;  and, 
the  shepherd  having  been  smitten  and  the  sheep  scattered 
abroad,  his  followers,  like  himself,  persecuted  unto  l\\G  death, 
and,  while  instructing  many,  faUing  by  the  sword,  and  by 
flame,  and  by  captivity,  and  by  spoil,  many  days  (at  the  very 
period  immediately  subsequent  to  the  time  when  the  sanc- 
tuary of  strength  in  Jerusalem  was  polluted,  the  daily  sacri- 
fice taken  away,  and  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate 
set  up)  ;  and,  notwithstanding  this  opposition,  such  also  being 
the  early,  rapid,  and  extensive  prevalence  of  Christianity  in 
the  world,  and  such  its  unmatched  power  over  the  spirits  of 
men,  as  manifested  by  the  life  and  by  the  death  of  those  who 
truly  embraced  it;  and  the  fact  being  notorious  that  kings 
have  since  seen  and  arisen,  and  that  princes  have  worshipped 
that  selfsame  person  who  was  a  servant  of  servants,  and 
whose  lig:ht  hath  gone  forth  unto  the  Gentiles  ;  might  not 
the  question  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  in  an  appeal  to 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  be  closed  at  once  as  soon  as  the 
history  of  Christianity  is  but  just  opened  ]  And,  the  facts 
being  clear,  and  the  word  of  prophecy  being  sure,  may  we 
not  see  concerning  Israel,  Jerusalem,  and  Jesus  and  his  gos- 
pel, that,  as  Moses  threatened,  God  has  required  it  of  the 
Jews,  because  they  would  not  hearken  unto  the  prophet,  like 
unto  himself,  raised  up  from  their  brethren,  into  whose  mouth 
God  put  his  words,  and  who  spake  to  them  in  his  name ; 
that  Jesus  is  the  Messiah,  who  was  cut  off  before  the  city  and 
sanctuary  were  destroyed;  that  the  desolations  which  were  de- 
termined until  the  consummation  are  those  which  yet  con- 
tinue ;  that  the  land  was  smitten  with  a  curse,  and  the  Jews 
scattered  among  all  nations,  because  their  hearts  were  not 
turned  at  the  word  of  the  Messenger  of  the  covenant;  and 
that,  when  Jesus  was  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  the  scrip- 
ture was  fulfilled,  and  the  everlasting  covenant  was  broken] 

But,  reserving  for  a  more  ample  and  final  demonstration 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah,  the 
most  fastidious  reader  may  admit  that  the  farther  advance, 
by  one  little  and  continuous  step,  may  now  be  made  with  the 
most  unscrupulous  and  unchallengeable  freedom,  viz.,  that 
of  comparing  those  facts  which  heathen  historians  and  waiters 
of  the  highest  repute  have  so  clearly  set  before  us  with  those 
which  are  recorded  in  the  Christian  scriptures. 

But  the  task,  after  all,  may  be  deemed  superfluous ;  for  every 
child  who  has  read  the  New  Testament  with  understanding 
must  see,  and  might  show  at  once,  that  the  historical  and 
scriptural  accounts  are  precisely  accordant  in  every  particu- 
lar; and,  to  every  interrogatory  concerning  them,  might  sup- 
P2 


174  OF    THE    ORIGIN    AND    PROGRESS 

ply  a  response  from  the  written  word.     Of  the  time,  place, 
and  manner  of  the  origin  of  the  Christian  faith,  there  is  the 
most  entire  agreement  between  the  enemies  of  the  cross  and 
the  disciples  of  Jesus.     Are  we  told  that,  during  the  procura- 
torship  of  Pontius  Pilate  at  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  Judea, 
Christ  was  put  to  death  as  a  malefactor,  or  judicially  con- 
demned, and  that  belief  in  a  crucified  Master  was  the  faith  of 
Christians  ?     In  the  writings  of  the  evangelists  we  read  the 
trial,  hear  the  sentence  passed  by  Pontius  Pilate,  and  have 
the  scene  of  the  crucifixion  set  before  us  ;  while  we  also  learn 
from  the  Christian  writings  that  the  cross,  which  was  fool- 
ishness to  the  Greeks,  is  the  glory  of  Christians.     Are  we 
told  in  profane  records  that  Christianity  was  first  propagated 
in  Judea  1     We  learn  from  scripture  that  the  gospel  was  first 
preached  unto  the  House  of  Israel,  and  that  the  apostles,  to 
whom  the  oflUce  was  assigned  of  preaching  it  unto  all  nations, 
were  commanded  to  begin  at  Jerusalem.     Was  there,  within 
the  space  of  thirty  years  after  the  death  of  Christ,  a  vast 
multitude  of  converts  in  the  city  of  Rome  1    We  may  read 
an  epistle  addressed,  before  that  time, "  to  all  that  be  at  Rome, 
beloved  of  God,  called  to  be  saints ;"  and  we  learn  that  Paul 
dwelt  two  whole  years  in  that  city  teaching  the  things  which 
concern  the  Lord' Jesus  Christ.     Was  Christianity  reckoned 
a  pestilent  superstition,  and  ranked  among  the  vile  and  abom- 
inable things  that  flowed  from  every  quarter  unto  Rome] 
The  truth  of  the  allegation  is  admitted  without  disguise. 
"  We  are  made  as  the  filth  of  the  earth,  and  are  the  offscour- 
ings of  all  things  unto  this  day."*    And  were  its  votaries  the 
victims  of  the  most  cruel  sufferings,  at  public  spectacles  be- 
fore the  citizens  of  Rome  1    Hear  their  own  testimony  of  all 
such  things,  as  neither  new  nor  uncommon  concerning  them : 
"  Ye  were  made  a  gazing-stock  both  by  reproaches  and  af- 
flictions, and  ye  became  companions  of  them  that  were  so 
used."     "  We  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the  world,  and  to  an- 
gels, and  to  men."t    Did  the  emperor  of  Rome  drive  as  a 
charioteer,  and  personally  witness  their  indignities  and  suf- 
ferings 1     And  did  Pliny,  the  governor,  preside  at  the  exam- 
inations of  the  Christians  ?     Does  Tacitus  describe  the  Chris- 
tians as  a  detested  race,  accuse  them  as  guilty  of  enmity  to 
mankind,  and  pronounce  them  as  deserving  of  exemplary 
punishment  ?    And  do  Pliny  and  Trajan  alike  hold  them  guilty, 
and  punishable  with  death  for  the  unrecanted  profession  of 
their  faith,  and  for  not  speaking  evil  of  the  name  of  Jesus  ? 
In  each  case  there  is  an  express  confirmation  of  the  words 
of  Christ,  as  recorded  by  the  evangelists.  Ye  shall  be  brought 
before  kings  and  rulers  for  my  name's  sake. J    They  shall 
deliver  you  to  be  afflicted,  and  shall  kill  you ;  and  ye  shall  be 

♦  1  Cor.  iv.,  13.        t  Heb.  x.,  33 ;  1  Cor.  iv.,  9,        t  Luke  xxL,  12. 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  175 

hated  of  all  nations  for  my  name's  sake.*  Did  the  historian 
record  that  many  were  convicted  on  testimony  of  others? 
And  does  the  governor  of  Bithynia  relate  that  there  was  a 
great  defection  from  the  profession  of  the  Christian  faith  when 
those  who  "  really  believed"  could  withstand  the  trying  test, 
and  bear  their  testimony  unto  death,  and  that  the  deserted 
temples  of  paganism  began  to  be  filled  again  by  recreant  and 
retracting  Christians  1  And  what  saith  the  scripture  ?  "  Then 
shall  many  be  offended,  and  shall  betray  one  another,  and 
shall  hate  one  another  ;  and,  because  iniquity  shall  abound, 
the  love  of  many  shall  wax  cold."t  Did  one  Roman  gov- 
ernor designate  Christians  as  a  mad  sect  1  Another  attrib- 
uted the  same  name  and  character  to  Paul.J  Was  their  de- 
votedness  ascribed  to  madness !  They  answer,  ''  The  natu- 
ral man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for 
they  are  foolishness  to  him.  And  we  are  fools  for  Christ's 
sake.  If  we  be  beside  ourselves,  it  is  to  God."^  Was  a  dis- 
tinction made,  in  one  province,  when  all  else  had  indiscrim- 
inately suffered,  between  the  Roman  citizens  and  other  be- 
lievers in  Clirist,  and  were  the  former  sent  unto  Rome  1  Even 
so,  in  another,  a  preacher  of  the  gospel  claimed  the  privilege 
of  a  Roman  citizen,  appealed  unto  Caesar,  and  unto  CfEsar  he 
was  sent.  Were  Christians  described  as  miserable  men,  who 
had  no  doubt  that  they  would  be  immortal,  and  live  for  ever  1 
They  answer  to  the  statement  and  the  charge,  "  If  in  this  life 
only  we  have  hope  in  Christ,  we  are  of  all  men  the  most  mis- 
erable."||  "  Our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment, 
worketh  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of 
glory. "^  "  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the  day  long,  we 
are  counted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter."**  Were  Christians, 
in  short,  subjected,  because  of  their  profession,  and  notwith- 
standing the  harmlessness  of  their  lives,  to  all  manner  of 
tortures,  as  Tacitus  relates,  within  the  period  of  thirty  years 
from  the  time  of  the  death  of  Christ,  as  that  date  is  fixed 
by  the  historian  himself?  And  how,  in  accordance  with  this, 
do  we  read,  in  the  written  word,  of  the  punishments  and  dis- 
tresses to  which  Christians,  on  the  first  propagation  of  their 
faith,  were  subjected  during  the  selfsame  period,  the  lifetime 
of  the  evangelists,  disciples,  and  apostles  of  Jesus  1  They 
are  thus  addressed,  as  men  familiarized  with  suffering :  "  Be- 
loved, think  it  not  strange  concerning  the  fiery  trial  which 
is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange  thing  happened  unto 
you,"  &c.tt  "  Call  to  remembrance  the  former  days,  in  which, 
after  ye  were  illuminated,  ye  endured  a  great  fight  of  afflic- 
tions," &c.|J    Or,  if  we  follow  an  apostle  through  his  abun- 

*  Mat.  xxiv.,  9."  t  Ibid,  xxiv.,  9,  12.  t  Acts  xxvi.,  25. 

^  1  Cor.  iv.,  10 ;  2  Cor.  v.,  13.  II  1  Cor.  iv.,  19. 

%  2  Cor.  iv.,  17.  **  Ps.  xliv.,22.    Rom.  viii.,  36. 

ft  1  Pet.  iv.,  12.  Xt  Heb.  i.,  32. 


176         OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS 

dant  labours,  we  see  him  thus  compassed  about  with  perils 
and  tribulations  :  "  In  stripes  above  measure,  in  prisons  more 
frequent,  in  deatlis  oft.  (H  the  Jiews  five  times  received  I 
forty  stripes  save  one.  Thrice  was  I  beaten  with  rods,  once 
was  I  stoned :  in  journeyings  often,  in  perils  of  waters,  in 
perils  of  robbers,  in  perils  of  mine  cfwn  countrymen,  in  perils 
by  the  heathen,  in  perils  in  the  city,  in  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness, in  perils  in  the  sea,  in  perils  among  false  brethren ;  in 
weariness  and  painfulness,  in  watchings  often,  in  hunger  and 
thirst,  in  fastings  often,  in  cold  and  nakedness."*  And, 
finally,  if  heathens  were  astonished  beyond  measure  at  the 
fortitude  of  Christians,  their  intrepidity  amid  dangers,  their 
fearlessness  of  death,  and  their  voluntary  sacrifice  of  life, 
some  better  solution  of  the  unparalleled  enigma  may  be  found 
in  the  Scriptures  than  what  a  heathen  moralist  could  devise 
and  it  may  there  be  discovered  that,  in  virtue  of  faith  in  the 
name  they  never  would  deny,  the  dread  of  death,  as  an  en- 
emy judged  rightly,  was  overcome  by  the  assured  hope  of 
immortality.  "  We  are  troubled  on  every  side,  yet  not  dis- 
tressed," they  could  say ;  "  we  are  perplexed,  but  not  in  de- 
spair; persecuted,  but  not  forsaken;  cast  down,  but  not  de- 
stroyed :  always  bearing  about  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
that  the  life  also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our  body ; 
know  that  he  which  raised  up  the  Lord  Jesus  shall  raise  us 
up  also  by  Jesus,  and  shall  present  us  with  you."  "  For  which 
cause  we  faint  not ;  but,  though  our  outward  man  perish,  yet 
the  inwai-d  man  is  renewed  day  by  day,"  &c.  "  We  our- 
selves glory  in  you  in  the  churches  of  God,  for  your  patience 
and  faith  in  all  your  persecutions  and  tribulations  that  ye  en- 
dure," &c.  "  We  rejoice  in  the  hope  of  the  glory  of  God; 
and  not  only  so,  but  we  glory  in  tribulations  also  ;  knowing 
that  tribulation  worketh  patience,  and  patience  experience, 
and  experience  hope."  And  this  was  the  language,  unwont- 
ed, if  not  unknown  before,  of  the  primitive  Christians;  and 
not  the  language  only  or  the  idle  vaunt  of  the  lips,  but,  though 
many  not  sound  in  the  faith  faltered  when  brought  to  the 
stake  to  enunciate  the  words,  the  principle  also  which,  our 
enemies  being  judges,  multitudes  carried  into  practical  ef- 
fect :  "  They  may  kill  me,  but  they  cannot  hurt  me.  Neither 
hold  I  my  life  dear,  that  I  may  finish  my  course  with  joy." 
But  not  only  is  the  agreement  perfect  between  the  histor- 
ical and  scriptural  accounts  of  the  origin  and  rise  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  of  the  sufferings  to  which,  as  might  well  have 
beseemed  their  name  and  calhng,  the  disciples  of  a  crucified 
Master  were  exposed  from  the  promulgation  of  their  faith 
and  their  aggressions  against  the  reign  of  idolatry  and  the 
kingdom  of  darkness ;  but  the  lives  of  Christians  also,  as 

•  2  Cor.  xi.,  24-27  ;  ib.  iv.,  8.  &,c.  ;  2  Thess.  i.,  4  ;  Rom.  v..  3.  4.  5. 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  177 

drawn  by  heathens,  give  such  a  demonstrative  proof  of  the 
power  of  their  faith,  and  such  a  practical  illustration  of  the 
precepts  of  Jesus,  as,  without  the  need  of  a  special  compar- 
ison, shows  them  at  once  to  have  been  a  living  epistle  known 
and  read  of  all  men.  All  history  may  be  safely  challenged 
to  produce  an  instance  ever  elsewhere  seen  of  human  nature 
in  so  fair  a  form,  or  of  any  society  of  men  besides,  except 
under  the  same  influence,  ever  known  as  so  "  lovely  and  of 
good  report."  Well  might  a  deistical  poet,  in  false  pity  of 
their  weakness,  testify  that  they  cherished  the  sure  hope  of 
immortality,  while  the  testimony  which  he  gives  of  their  lives 
shows  that  it  was  a  hope  which  purified  the  heart,  and  that 
that  faith  was  theirs  which  at  once  overcometh  the  world  and 
worketh  by  love.  Their  meeting  together  on  a  stated  day  to 
sing  hymns  unto  Christ  as  a  God  shows  that  they  forgot  not 
the  assembling  of  themselves  together ;  yet  their  desisting, 
when  enjoined,  even  from  this  practice  or  from  their  feasts 
of  love,  showed  also  that  they  were  obedient  to  existing 
powers  or  authorities,  so  far  as  compliance  could  possibly  be 
rendered  without  relinquishing  their  faith  in  Christ  and  the 
worship  of  God,  who,  unlike  the  deities  to  which  they  would 
not  fall  down,  heareth  and  seeth  in  secret.  Their  mutual 
compact  and  obhgation,  by  a  sacrament,  to  abstain  from  all 
sinful  practices,  was  only  an  exercise  of  that  love  which 
worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbour,  and  was  but  setting  their 
seal  to  that  bond  of  the  Christian  covenant,  to  which,  as  ap- 
pears from  their  sacred  writings,  they  beheved  that  God  had 
already  set  his  seal.  "  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his ; 
and  let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart 
from  iniquity."  Their  "  sovereign  contempt  for  all  the  things 
of  this  world"  might  be  deemed  the  veriest  folly  in  the  world- 
ling's estimation ;  yet,  in  confirmation  of  the  truth  of  the 
charge,  it  may  indeed  be  said,  that  when  these  things  came 
into  competition  or  comparison  with  the  knowledge  of  Christ, 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  hope  of  glory,  nn  apostle  or  a  true 
disciple  of  Jesus  could  suffer  the  loss  of  them  all,  and,  ac- 
counting them  but  dung  that  they  might  win  Christ,  hold 
them  thus  in  as  great  disparagement  and  contempt,  as  ever 
any  of  those  whose  god  is  the  world,  and  who  mind  and  who 
love  earthly  things,  cast  upon  the  blessings  that  are  spiritual 
and  eternal.  The  testimony  of  the  enemies  of  Christians  is 
conjoined  with  their  own,  in  one  word,  that  they  had  all 
things  in  common.  And  while  they  suffered  joyfully  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods,  their  disinterestedness  and  alacrity 
in  serving  and  reUeving  one  another  testified  that  there  were 
uses  of  wealth  of  which  they  were  not  so  ignorant  as  the 
world  around  them.  And  the  crowning  and  characteristic 
virtue  of  Christian  love  was  no  less  the  marvel  of  the  hea- 
then than  the  mark  of  their  faith.     By  having  love  one  to 


178         OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  PROGRESS 

another  they  were  to  be  known  ojT  all  men  as  the  disciples 
of  Jesus :  and  by  that  they  were  known  of  all.  "  Having 
turned  from  idols  and  renounced  the  gods  of  the  Greeks,"  in 
the  words  both  of  a  profane  writer  and  of  a  Christian  apostle, 
they  were  actuated  by  new  motives  as  well  as  professed  a 
new  faith;  selfishness  was  abjured' together  with  idolatry; 
love  was  practised  where  Christ  was  received  as  their  law- 
giver; the  new  commandment  which  he  gave  unto  them  was 
that  they  should  love  one  another;  and  while  from  others 
they  could  "  bear  all  things,"  among  themselves  they  lived 
and  loved  as  "  brethren."  And,  to  close  at  length,  and  yet 
hastily  and  prematurely,  the  obvious  analogy  between  the 
Christian  precepts  as  recorded  in  the  gospel,  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  primitive  Christians  as  detailed  by  their  perse- 
cutors or  adversaries,  they  so  lived  according  to  their  scrip- 
tures, as  having  their  conversation  honest  among  the  Gen- 
tiles, as  putting  to  silence  the  ignorance  of  foolish  men  with 
their  well-doing,  as  adorning  the  doctrine  of  their  Saviour  in 
all  things,  so  that,  though  some  falsely  accused  them,  he  who 
was  of  the  contrary  part  had  no  evil  truly  to  say  against  them, 
their  enemies  being  judges. 

It  would  not  be  an  object  of  rational  research  to  seek  for 
an  acknowledgment  of  the  Messiahship  of  Christ  and  of  the 
truth  of  his  religion  from  among  those  men,  whatever  might 
have  been  their  talent  or  their  station,  who  adhered  to  pa- 
ganism, and  consequently  held  the  Christian  faith,  as  a  system 
of  religious  belief,  in  contemptuous  abhorrence.  They  give 
all  that  could  have  been  expected  at  their  hands,  and  with- 
hold nothing  that  was  needful  to  be  known  from  them.  And 
their  testimony  of  itself  has  qualities  that  could  scarcely 
have  pertained  to  the  word  of  a  Christian,  however  true. 
For,  while  even  a  martyr  could  not  have  borne  better  or 
clearer  testimony  to  facts  connected  with  the  rise  of  Chris- 
tianity, or  more  accordant  with  the  scriptural  record  than 
that  which  is  concentrated  in  the  evidence  of  heathens — 
whether  we  consult  historians,  or  a  governor,  or  emperors, 
or  moralists,  or  an  epigrammatist,  or  a  satirist,  or  a  descrip- 
tive poet,  or  recanting  Christians,  or  an  imperial  apostate — 
believers  in  Christ  could  not  have  testified  from  personal  ex- 
perience of  the  feelings  of  those  who  hated  his  name  and 
persecuted  his  cause ;  nor  could  they  have  exposed  the  sen- 
timents of  their  betrayers,  revilers,  and  murderers  so  fully 
and  freely  as  these  have  been  told  by  their  own  lips  or  writ- 
ten by  theirpwn  hands.  This  evidence  comes  more  directly, 
immediately,  and  conclusively  from  themselves.  And  the 
testimony  of  enemies,  to  facts  corroborative  of  the  truths 
they  gainsay,  is  of  all  others  the  most  conclusive,  and  may 
well  stifle  all  doubts  and  close  all  controversy  in  respect  to 
the  truths  which  it  confirms  and  could  not  contravene.     And 


OF    CHRISTIANITY.  179 

when  the  most  perfect  concurrence  subsists,  as  if  things  op- 
posite to  each  other  were  here  integrated  into  one,  between 
the  pagan  and  Christian  documents,  respecting  the  origin  and 
rise  of  Christianity,  the  fate  of  its  author,  the  nature  of  the 
doctrine,  the  mode  of  its  promulgation,  and  the  manner  of 
its  reception;  whether,  as  diametrically  opposite,  hy  those 
who  opposed  or  those  who  received  it ;  and  the  rapidity  and 
extent  of  its  prevalence  against  all  opposition,  and  the  char- 
acter and  the  sufferings,  alike  uncommon  or  unparalleled,  of 
those  who  maintained  its  truth  unto  the  death,  it  needs  some- 
thing else  than  the  ordinary  exercise  of  a  sound  and  unbi- 
ased judgment  to  discover  on  what  pretext  or  shadow  of 
reason  these  statements,  thus  substantiated  on  the  most  in- 
dependent testimony,  can  be  discredited ;  or  how  the  very 
existence  of  Christianity,  in  its  present  form,  and  extent,  and 
paramount  inljuence  on  the  fate  of  the  world,  could  possibly 
be  accounted  for  on  any  other  supposition  than  on  the  ad- 
mission of  the  truth  of  the  only  history  of  its  origin  and  early 
progress  in  the  world,  which  is  or  has  ever  been  known  to 
exist,  whether  written  by  friend  or  by  foe. 

As  ancient  history,  deserving  of  the  name,  began  its  la- 
bours at  the  very  time  when  the  Old  Testament  history 
closed,  and  when  prophecy,  itself  sealed  up,  required  in  every 
future  age  a  confirmation  of  its  truth ;  so  it  is,  perhaps,  not 
less  striking  and  important  that  such  a  narrative  should 
have  been  given  as  that  of  the  celebrated  historian  Tacitus' 
description  of  the  progress  of  Christianity  and  of  the  perse- 
cution of  Christians,  at  the  very  time  when  the  New  Testa- 
ment history  ceased,  and  when  the  evangelists  and  disciples 
of  Christ,  as  their  most  violent  adversaries  admit,  had  com- 
mitted unto  writings,  acknowledged  by  Christians,  the  his- 
tory of  the  hfe  of  Christ  and  of  the  acts  of  his  apostles.  As 
both  dates  are  fixed  by  Tacitus,  and,  it  may  be  added,  by 
universal  consent,  the  space  of  only  thirty  years  intervened 
from  the  death  of  Christ  to  the  persecution  of  the  Christians 
under  Nero.  These  two  dates  may  be  held  undeniably 
filxed.  Within  that  brief  interval,  during  which  the  gospel 
was  propagated  to  a  marvellous  extent,  the  evangelists  and 
disciples  of  Christ  lived  and  wrote.  And  some  of  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures,  such  as  those  of  John,  universally 
acknowledged  to  have  been  the  last  of  the  apostles,  were 
not  written  till  after  the  time  to  which  the  description  given 
by  Tacitus  refers. 

Some  such  history,  therefore,  there  must  have  been  of  the 
origin,  rise,  and  progress  of  Christianity,  as  that  which  is 
recorded  by  the  evangelists  and  disciples  of  Christ,  and  as 
may  be  gathered,  in  connexion  with  these,  from  the  various 
epistles  addressed  to  Christian  churches,  if  the  circumstances 
connected  with  the  rise  of  a  new  religion  of  most  rapid 


180  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

growth  had  not  from  the  beginning  been  consigned  over  to 
everlasting  oblivion.  Every  impartial  and  reflecting  reader 
must  see  that  it  needs  exactly  such  details  as  those  which 
the  Christian  Scriptures  present,  in  all  their  clearness,  sim- 
plicity, detailed  and  varied  narratives,  to  fill  up  the  history  of 
Christianity  and  of  its  progress  during  the  short  interve- 
ning space  from  its  commencement,  so  as  to  accord  in  these 
respects  with  the  facts  which  are  implied  or  explicitly  de- 
tailed in  the  narrative  of  Tacitus,  and  subsequently  in  the 
epistle  of  Pliny,  as  well  as  with  the  later  testimony  of  more 
bitter  enemies  of  the  cross.  Instead  of  exaggerating  the 
inroads  on  paganism  made  by  the  gospel,  even  as  soon  as 
its  career  was  well  begun,  and  drawing  with  a  friendly  and 
too  partial  hand  the  character  of  their  brethren,  or  painting, 
as  suffering  humanity  no  less  sorely  than  unjustly  tried 
might  be  supposed  to  have  done,  in  too  dai^Jc  colours  the 
hatred  and  cruelty  of  their  enemies ;  had  one  jot  been  abated 
in  any  of  these  respects  by  the  penmen  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, in  so  far  some  truth  must  have  been  modified  or  con- 
cealed, which,  as  it  does  stand  in  the  written  word,  is  essen- 
tial to  a  perfect  concord  with  the  averments  of  those  who 
had  neither  part  nor  lot  in  the  matter,  but  to  set  themselves 
against  the  truth,  which  their  evidence,  so  far  and  so  strongly 
as  it  can,  thus  directly  and  explicitly  confirms. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF    THE    GENUINENESS    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES,   AS 
WRITTEN    BY    THE    EVANGELISTS    AND    APOSTLES    OF   JESUS. 

Numberless  are  the  historical  facts  that  meet  with  an  un- 
hesitating assent,  for  which  no  evidence  can  be  adduced  at 
all  comparable  in  abundance  and  precision  with  that  which, 
in  the  merely  preliminary  view  we  have  already  taken,  is  so 
palpably  borne  to  the  origin  and  propagation  of  the  Christian 
faith.  And  yet,  instead  of  having  exhausted  the  subject,  we 
have  scarcely  entered  on  the  Christian  testimony,  which 
opens  up  a  field  too  wide  to  be  explored,  and  presents  us  with 
evidence  too  abundant  to  be  adduced  in  a  summaiy  treatise 
like  the  present.  Happily,  the  task  is  needless,  for  the  work 
has  been  already  done  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  all 
other  labour  concerning  it  superfluous.  And,  if  we  mistake 
not,  this,  in  right  order,  is  its  proper  place,  the  unassailable 
position  it  maintains,  or  in  which  its  evidence  is,  without 
controversy,  irresistible.     And  were  the  reader,  unsparing 


OF    Tlije    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  181 

of  labour,  in  the  true  spirit  of  research,  to  enter,  if  needful 
for  satisfaction  the  most  complete,  into  the  thorough  exami- 
nation of  all  the  component  parts  of  this  redundant  demon- 
stration, and  to  peruse  the  accumulated  testimonies  from  the 
earliest  ages  that  are  collected  and  arranged  ready  to  his 
hand,  and  open  to  his  inspection  in  Lardner's  Credibility  of 
the  Gospel,  or  in  a  more  condensed  and  engaging  form  in 
the  still  more  accessible  pages  of  Paley's  Evidences,  he 
would  not  then  need  a  prompter  to  tell  that  the  only  pru- 
dence or  wisdom,  according  to  that  of  this  world,  which  un- 
believers could  display,  and  the  only  resource  to  which  they 
could  betake  themselves,  was  to  evade  the  testimony. 

The  evidence  borne  by  enemies,  and  its  perfect  accord- 
ance with  scriptural  history,  prepare  the  way  for  the  more 
full  and  direct  witness  concerning  their  religion  which  could 
come  from  believers  alone.  The  view  taken  of  Christianity 
by  its  enemies  could  only  be  external.  They  could  tell  no 
more  than  what  they  saw  in  looking  on  the  outer  sanctuary. 
They  could  only  represent  what  they  witnessed  in  others 
whose  faith  was  opposite  to  their  own,  and  whose  conduct 
in  life,  and  bearing  in  death,  baffled  the  comprehension  of 
the  wisest  among  them.  And  if  we  seek  a  more  minute 
and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  history  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  of  the  credentials  of  the  authenticity  of  the  gos- 
pel as  the  writings  held  sacred  by  Christians,  it  may  best  be 
obtained  from  those  who  best  can  tell — who  had  the  knowl- 
edge to  communicate  of  the  faith  they  cherished  and  the 
writings  they  believed.  It  is  not  the  man  who  stands  with- 
owt,  and  who  has  never  entered  an  edifice,  who  is  asked  to 
detail  and  to  describe  all  that  is  to  be  found  within  it ;  but 
he  who  claims  the  habitation  as  his  own  may  fully  disclose 
that  of  which  the  other  was  unconscious.  Even  so,  al- 
though heathens  may  best  tell  of  their  own  feelings  towards 
Christians,  it  is  not  for  them  fully  to  expound  what  behevers 
knew  concerning  their  scriptures.  But  those  to  whom  these 
writings  were  addressed,  and  tt)  whom  they  were  committed 
to  be  handed  down  from  generation  to  generation  in  all  the 
churches,  are  better  able  to  testify  concerning  those  scrip- 
tures which  their  enemies,  as  will  be  fully  shown,  acknowl- 
edged as  their  own.  And  it  is  to  those  who  believed  in  the 
Scriptures  that  we  have  to  look  for  such  full  and  positive  ev- 
idence' as  may  authenticate  the  New  Testament,  as  indeed 
the  writings  of  the  evangelists  and  disciples  of  Jesus,  and 
give  proof  of  their  identity  from  age  to  age,  that  from  hence 
we  may  learn,  more  fully  than  heathens  could  unfold,  the 
history  of  the  life  as  well  as  of  the  death  of  Christ,  the  na- 
ture as  well  as  the  progress  of  his  religion,  the  principles  as 
well  as  the  profession  of  his  disciples,  the  faith  they  cher- 
ished, as  well  as  the  character  they  sustained  and  the  trials 
Q 


182  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

they  endured — and  all  that  man  may  competently  record  of 
Christianity — in  order  tluit  that  liigher  testimony  surpassing 
human,  which  had  before  been  given  by  inspiration  of  God, 
may  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  gospel  of  his  Son. 

Paley,  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  his  Evidences,  enters  at 
large  upon  the  proof  of  the  authenticity  of  the  Historical 
Scriptures,  by  adducing  quotations  from  tliem  by  ancient 
Christian  writers ;  by  showing  the  peculiar  r(ispect  witli 
which  they  were  quoted ;  that  the  Scriptures  were  in  very 
early  times  collected  into  a  distinct  volume ;  that  they  were 
distinguished  by  appropriate  names  and  titles  of  respect ; 
that  they  were  publicly  read  and  expounded  in  the  religious 
assemblies  of  the  early  Christians;  that  commentaries,  &c., 
were  anciently  written  upon  the  Scriptures ;  that  they  were 
received  by  ancient  Christians  of  different  sects  and  persua- 
sions; and  that  formal  catalogues  of  authentic  Scriptures 
were  published,  in  all  which  our  present  Gospels  were  in- 
cluded, &c. 

Without  enlarging  on  each  or  any  of  these  grounds  of  a 
conclusive  argument  in  demonstration  of  the  genuineness  of 
the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  it  may  here  suffice  to  take 
such  a  cursory  view  of  the  subject  as  may  serve  to  show 
the  connexion  of  the  various  parts  of  the  Christian  evidence, 
and  that  nothing  is  wanting  which  sober  reason  could  re- 
quire to  elucidate  the  truth  that  the  identity  and  genuineness 
of  the  Christian  Scriptures  may  be  traced  by  a  connected 
chain  of  indisputable  evidence  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the 
present  day. 

However  great  and  varied  may  be  the  differences,  in  re- 
spect to  religious  belief,  that  unhappily  prevail  among  the 
professing  disciples  of  Jesus ;  whatever  may  be  the  latitude 
which  they  allow  or  practise  in  their  expositions  of  the  New 
Testament ;  nay,  whether  some  may  suffer  their  reason,  as 
they  say,  or  rather  their  imagination,  as  the  result  may  tes- 
tify, to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  written  word ;  or  whether 
others  assign  to  a  man,  or  to  a  collected  body  of  men,  the 
office  of  infallible  interpretation ;  there  yet  is  one  thing  in 
which  their  enemies  cannot  charge  them  with  disunion,  viz., 
that  the  Scriptures  now  in  our  hands  were  then  possessed 
by  the  primitive  Christians,  and  are  avowedly  the  rule  of 
faith  to  every  sect  and  in  every  age  of  the  church.  The 
authenticity  of  Scripture  is  alike  indisputable  among  them ; 
and,  where  diversity  of  sentiment  otherwise  prevails,  there 
is  here  but  one  opinion.  To  waver  in  mind  in  this  one  re- 
spect would  be  to  waver  in  the  Christian  faith.  Christianity 
is  virtually  renounced  when  any  other  gospel  is  preached  or 
believed  than  that  of  the  New  Testament;  and,  whenever 
it  is  disbelieved,  faith  it  disavowed.  The  whole  Christian 
church — though  unhappily  presenting  to  view  the  form  of 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURE*  183 

the  scattered  fragments  of  a  mutilated  and  divided  body, 
rather  than  joined  member  to  member  and  united  to  one 
head — has  here  but  a  single  and  undivided  testimony ;  nor 
throughout  the  vsrhole  of  Christendom,  where  unbelievers  do 
not  raise  up  their  voice  against  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  is 
there  one  murmur  of  dissent. 

This  happy  harmony,  unbroken  amid  minor  discords,  may 
serve  to  illustrate  what  is  meant  by  the  testimony  of  the 
church,  as  borne  in  every  age  to  the  authenticity  of  the 
Scriptures.  Men  may  discuss  their  various  creeds,  and  mark 
the  shades  of  their  opinions  in  many  high  matters  touched  on 
in  Scripture,  which  may  surpass  the  powers  of  human  reason 
adequately  to  define,  or,  perhaps,  fully  to  conceive.  And  thus 
schisms  have  arisen  from  the  earliest  ages  in  the  church,  by 
looking  to  a  part  rather  than  the  whole  counsel  of  God ;  as 
if,  instead  of  seeking  to  be  clothed  with  the  righteousness  of 
Christ,  believers  in  his  name,  like  the  Roman  soldiers  who 
crucified  him,  had  parted  his  garments  among  them.  But 
there  is  still  a  vesture  without  a  seam  which  has  not  been 
torn.  The  integrity  of  the  Scriptures  has  been  maintained 
oy  all  Christians ;  all  profess  to  revere  them  as  the  sacred 
oracles,  and  make  to  them  their  common  appeal.  Neither 
Christian,  nor  Mohammedan,  nor  skeptic,  denies  that  the 
Koran  was  written  by  Mohammed,  and  is  the  book  which  be- 
lievers in  him  have  ever  specially  regarded  as  holy.  And  it 
is  no  great  demand  which  in  the  first  place  may  be  urged, 
to  hear  the  testimony  of  the  universal  Christian  church  in 
every  age,  that  the  New  Testament  contains  the  doctrine 
of  Jesus,  and  has  ever  been  the  record  of  the  faith  of  his  dis- 
ciples. The  whole  Christian  church  being  agreed  as  to  the 
authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the  Scriptures ;  and  there 
being  no  other  history,  in  the  present  or  any  former  age,  of 
the  origin  and  rise  of  Christianity,  save  that  which  they  con- 
tain, a  slight  glance  at  some  of  the  most  important  and  es- 
sential points  of  the  testimony,  borne  from  the  earliest  ages, 
to  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the  Scriptures,  may, 
perhaps,  go  far  to  satisfy  the  most  scrupulous  inquirer  that 
this  portion  of  the  evidence  is  as  strong  and  complete  as  any 
other. 

After  the  ages  appropriately  termed  dark,  during  which  the 
Scriptures  were  secluded  from  common  view,  the  Reforma- 
tion arose  with  the  republication  of  the  Gospels.  Scholastic 
jargon,  miscalled  science,  yielded  to  rational  investigation; 
and,  in  religious  inquiry,  legendary  lore  yielded  to  the  study 
of  the  Bible  and  of  the  writings  of  the  Fathers,  as  the  earli- 
est of  the  Christian  writers  were  termed.  Manuscripts  of 
the  New  Testament  and  of  the  Old  were  drawn  from  clois- 
tered recesses,  in  which  the  most  ancient  of  them  had  been 
preserved  with  scrupulous,  if  not  also  superstitious  care,  and 


184       f^  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

in  which  copies  of  them  had  been  multiplied  age  after  age 
with  devoted  carefulness  and  zeal ;  the  letter  of  the  scrip- 
tures having  been  preserved  and  perpetuated  when  their 
spirit  had  been  lost.  Even  the  perversion  of  Christian  truth 
was  overruled  for  the  promotion  of  the  Christian  testimony. 
The  faithful  transcription  of  the  ^Scriptures  was  deemed  a 
work  of  merit.  Though  their  publication  had  been  prohibited, 
and  the  translations  were  sometimes  denounced  by  papal  au- 
thority, yet  even  the  alleged  prerogative  of  infallibility  could 
only  claim  the  right  of  interpreting  the  written  word.  The 
strongholds  of  the  popish  church,  abbeys,  cathedrals,  monas- 
teries, &c.,  became  in  fact,  however  undesignedly,  the  store- 
houses of  the  Christian  scriptures  ;  and  those  who  hid  them 
from  the  world,  or  read  them  only  in  an  unknown  tongue, 
were  made  the  instruments  of  preserving  their  integrity,  and 
redoubling  their  number  for  the  scrutiny  and  the  use  of  fu- 
ture ages.  And  the  Vatican  itself  was  and  is  filled  with  the 
testimonials  of  the  genuineness  of  these  scriptures,  which 
no  cloisters  now  can  any  longer  confine.  Hundreds  of  man- 
uscripts, which  have  been  critically  and  carefully  examined 
and  compared,  so  completely  set  at  rest  all  question  of  the 
genuineness  of  the  Christian  scriptures  as  such,  that  the  worst 
manuscripts  contain  every  essential  truth  which  forms  a  por- 
tion of  the  Christian  scheme,  or  of  the  history  of  the  gospel 
and  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  his  apostles ;  and  would  per- 
fectly sufl5ce  for  comparing  the  events  recorded  and  the  doc- 
trines unfolded  with  the  testimony  of  the  prophets  concern- 
ing the  Messiah.  Every  copy  from  every  quarter  showed 
that  the  long  dormant  Scriptures  were  ever  one  and  the 
same ;  and  after  having  been  preserved  in  secret  during  the 
ages  of  darkness  and  violence,  and  beyond  the  reach  of  bar- 
baric influence  to  desecrate  or  to  destroy  them,  the  Scrip- 
tures were  drawn  from  their  depositories  and  committed  to 
the  press.  And  though  that  engine  of  wondrous  power  has 
been  often  vainly  used  against  them,  it  has  not  only  spread 
them  throughout  the  world,  and  seems  to  be  destined  to  mul- 
tiply their  number  still,  till  the  Bible  throughout  the  earth 
shall  be  plentiful  like  leaves  in  the  forest ;  but  as  affecting 
their  authenticity  and  the  security  of  their  unaltered  trans- 
mission to  all  future  ages,  it  has  also,  wherever  Christian  ed- 
ucation prevails,  put  it  in  the  power  of  every  child  to  show — 
should  such  be  the  case  by  accident  or  design  in  any  instance 
— wherever  a  letter  is  misplaced  or  altered. 

Before  the  period  of  the  Gothic  invasion  of  the  Roman 
empire,  and  the  deep  and  lasting  obscuration  that  settled  down 
upon  all  its  provinces,  there  was  a  time  of  light  such  as  the 
world  had  never  previously  witnessed.  It  was  not  in  any  se- 
cluded portion  of  the  globe,  or  at  a  time  when  communica- 
tion was  fettered  and  science  unknown ;  but  in  one  of  the 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  185 

richest  provinces  of  Rome,  the  garden,  as  it  was  termed,  of 
the  empire,  and  in  the  boasted  Augustan  age,  that  Christian- 
ity had  its  origin.  It  rapidly  spread  over  Greece  and  Italy, 
the  reputed  regions  of  human  learning,  where  the  arts  and 
elegances  of  hfe  were  greatly  cultivated  and  observed,  and 
where,  in  succession,  eloquence  had  its  seat.  And,  not  con- 
fined to  these  countries,  Christianity,  which  professed  to  be 
the  rehgion,  not  of  Greece  or  Rome,  but  of  the  human  race  ; 
which  set  no  exclusive  mark  upon  man,  whether  barbarian, 
Scythian,  bond,  or  free,  and  knew  no  distinction  between  sav- 
age and  civilized,  and  which  drew  the  dark  picture  of  human 
depravity  from  the  imperial  city,  was  promulgated,  and  pre- 
vailed in  the  remote  regions  as  well  as  in  the  capital.  And 
hence  the  proofs,  not  only  of  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  but 
of  the  uniformity  of  the  faith  and  genuineness  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, may  be  drawn  from  every  quarter.  The  Scriptures, 
which,  as  they  bear,  were  commanded  to  be  read  in  all  the 
churches  wherever  Christians  existed,  were  open  to  the  view ; 
and,  as  the  fact  itself  gives  proof,  underwent  the  keen  scru- 
tiny of  watchful  and  subtle  enemies,  so  well  skilled  in  de- 
tecting any  deception  or  delusion,  that  they  ingeniously  cav- 
illed at  what  they  could  not  confute.  And,  from  the  nature 
of  the  case,  it  may  be  said  that  the  possession  of  the  Scrip- 
tures was  essential  to  the  existence  and  permanence  of  the 
Christian  faith  in  every  place  where  it  had  first  been  incul- 
cated by  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  Everywhere  spoken  against 
and  persecuted,  their  bond  of  union,  and  the  badge  of  their 
character,  was  their  common  faith.  And  having  spread,  as 
they  did,  throughout  every  region,  and  gathered  converts  in 
every  city,  and  also,  as  Bithynia  illustrates,  throughout  the 
scattered  villages  and  over  the  face  of  the  country,  the  Scrip- 
tures were  universally,  and  in  every  region,  their  common 
creed  ;  and  hence  the  uniformity  and  identity,  and  the  pecu- 
liarity of  their  character.  The  Scriptures  were  believed  in 
and  revered  as  the  writings  of  evangelists,  containing  the 
only  accredited  histories  of  the  life  and  doctrine  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  apostles  who  had  immediately  received  their 
commission  from  the  author  of  their  faith.  The  writings  of 
the  disciples  and  apostles  of  Christ  were  thus  universally 
propagated  and  believed  in,  as  Scriptures  given  by  inspiration 
of  God.  Whether  they  in  truth  were  such  or  not,  is  not  the 
point  to  be  here  investigated.  But  an  unimpeachable  testi- 
mony bears  out  the  truth,  as  of  any  common  fact,  that  they 
were  universally  received  as  such  from  the  very  earliest  ages 
of  the  church.  That  such  was  indeed  the  case — not  pre- 
sumptively merely,  and  according  to  the  acknowledgment  ol 
their  enemies,  but  actually,  as  attested  by  direct  and  positive 
evidence,  snch  as  places  the  matter  clearly  before  us,  and 
Q  2 


186  OF   THE    GENUINENESS 

might  set  the  question  at  rest — it  is  the  easiest  of  all  tasks  to 
demonstrate. 

No  truth,  surely,  can  be  more  plain,  indisputable,  and  self- 
evident,  than  that  any  book  which  is  quoted  in  another  was 
written  before  it.  On  this  simple  and  decisive  test  of  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  they  may  be  traced 
up,  with  all  facility,  to  the  very  time  at  which  they  were  pro- 
fessedly written.  And  the  evidence  of  their  genuineness  as 
the  Christian  Scriptures,  received  as  such  from  the  begin- 
ning, is  alike  abundant  and  incontestible. 

Some  of  the  subtlest  of  the  heathens,  in  primitive  times, 
quoted  portions  from  Scripture,  which  were  selected  by  their 
ingenuity  as  the  best  suited  to  their  purpose,  in  order  to  re- 
fute them ;  and  started  such  objections  against  the  doctrines 
of  Jesus  as  in  any  age  may  naturally  arise  in  those  hearts 
over  which  the  pride  of  life  or  the  pleasures  of  the  world 
bear  sway.  But  the  apparent  specks  were  few  on  which 
these  birds  of  night,  in  love  with  darkness,  could  alight,  com- 
pared to  that  fair  daylight  region  of  truth,  as  they  accounted 
it,  which  believers  in  Jesus  possessed  as  their  own  domain, 
over  which  they  could  freely  range  or  expatiate — the  whole 
of  the  Scripture,  from  which  they  freely  quoted  without  limit 
or  restriction.  They  revered  and  loved  the  credentials  of 
their  faith.  In  explanation  of  the  character  given  them  by 
their  enemies,  it  may  be  said  thai  they  held  forth  the  word 
before  them.  And  their  writings  prove,  what  heathens  ad- 
mitted, that  they  held  the  Scriptures  as  their  own. 

From  the  period  of  two  centuries  after  the  death  of  the  last 
of  the  apostles,  or  the  close  of  the  third  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era,  the  works  of  Christian  writers,  then  numerous,  "  are 
as  full  of  texts  of  Scripture  or  of  references  to  Scripture  as 
the  discourses  of  modern  divines."  And  quotations  from 
any  other  book,  in  any  language,  are  not  once  to  be  com- 
pared in  extent  with  those  of  the  Scriptures  alone.  It  was 
previously  remarked,  that,  had  the  worst  manuscript  of  the 
New  Testament,  or  that  which  should  be  found  to  be  the 
most  full  of  errors  or  defects,  come  down  alone  to  our  times, 
the  means  would  still  have  been  preserved  of  learning  from 
it  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  and  everything  essential  to 
the  Christian  faith.  Such  is  the  perfect  security  with  which 
the  New  Testament  passed  immaculate  through  the  dark 
ages.  And  it  may  also  be  said,  with  equal  truth,  as  has  often 
been  stated  and  never  can  be  refuted,  that  even  were  the 
Scriptures  lost,  or  were  not  a  single  copy  of  them  to  be  found 
on  earth,  the  loss  might  still  be  supplied,  not  from  any  words 
of  man,  but  from  quotations  of  the  Scriptures  themselves  in 
the  writings  of  the  Fathers  :  so  amply  were  they  drawn  from, 
and  so  frequently  were  they  resorted  to  as  the  sources  of 
Divine  truth.    In  either  case,  it  would  seem  that  the  prov- 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  187 

idence  of  God  had  so  ordered  it,  that  the  genuineness  of  his 
word  should  be  put  beyond  the  reach  of  a  single  rational 
doubt,  whether  we  look  to  the  multiplicity  and  agreement  of 
the  various  translations,  and  versions,  and  manuscripts  of  the 
New  Testament,  or  to  the  profusion  with  which  the  very 
words  of  Scripture  are  spread  over  the  existing  pages  of  the 
most  ancient  Christian  writers. 

Without  challenging  respect  for  all  the  sayings  of  the  Fa- 
thers, or  placing  all  or  any  of  their  opinions,  as  such,  or  those 
of  any  others  besides,  within  the  verge  of  comparison  with 
one  of  the  truths  of  Scripture,  it  is  manifest  that,  whether 
they  elucidate  the  truth,  or  whether  ihey  may,  like  more 
modern  writers,  sometimes  darken  counsel  by  words  without 
knowledge,  yet  they  could  not  have  quoted  from  the  Scrip- 
tures if  these  had  not  previously  existed.  And  it  is  no  less 
obvious,  that  in  all  the  conflicting  opinions  which  from  early 
heresies  and  schisms  arose  simultaneously  with  the  prop- 
agation of  the  Gospel,  the  Scriptures  would  not  have  been 
universally  appealed  to  if  they  had  not  been  recognised  as 
of  indisputable  authority,  and  as  containing  the  true  and  in- 
fallible account  of  the  origin  of  Christianity  and  of  the  doc- 
trine of  the  cross. 

Within  the  space  of  three  centuries,  paganism,  with  all  its 
authority  and  pomp,  was  shaken  to  pieces  and  scattered  into 
dust  through  the  prevalence  and  the  power,  unsustained  by 
one  carnal  weapon,  of  faith  in  that  Jesus  whom  it  had  de- 
spised as  a  crucified  malefactor.  And  although  the  church, 
when  unassailed  from  without,  became  disunited  within,  and 
the  Arian  controversy  broke  the  bond  of  Christian  brother- 
hood more  than  all  the  previous  heresies  and  schisms,  yet 
new  proof  was  thereby  added  to  the  authenticity  of  Scrip- 
ture, which  none  dared  to  challenge  or  controvert,  whether 
believers  in  Christ  were  persecuted  by  imperial  mandates,  or 
an  emperor  of  Rome  had  a  seat  in  their  councils. 

Prior  to  the  time  that  Christianity  became  the  religion  of 
the  empire,  and  when  Christian  writers  abounded,  there  is 
not  a  blank  for  a  single  generation  in  the  testimony  which  is 
borne  to  it  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  to  those  of  Con- 
stantine. . 

It  is  needless  to  speak  of  the  numberless  scriptural  quo- 
tations in  the  voluminous  works  of  Christian  authors  after 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  became  professedly  the  religion  of  the 
empire.  Commentaries  on  the  Scriptures  abounded.  Je- 
rome's translation,  the  Vulgate,  is  well  known.  And  the  Sy- 
rian is  still  extant  of  a  far  earlier  date.  But  these  were  not 
the  only  translations  of  the  Christian  scriptures  in  ancient 
times.  The  gospel  was  preached  unto  all  nations,  and  the 
New  Testament  was  translated  into  many  languages.  No 
bishop  then  impeded  its  progress,  nor  was  it  read  only  in  an 


188  OF   THE    GENUINENESS 

unknown  tongue.  Eusebius,  bishop  of  Caesarea,  in  an  ora- 
tion publicly  addressed  to  Constantine,  in  the  city  of  Con- 
stantinople, while  he  eloquently  illustrates  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity, specially  refers  to  the  prophecies  of  Jesus  concern- 
ing the  destruction  of  Jerusalen\  and  the  extension  of  the 
gospel.  And  in  proof  that  Christ  had  fulfilled  his  word  of 
promise  that  he  could  make  his  apostles  ^5/jer*  of  men,  he 
appeals  to  the  facts,  that  from  humble  fishermen  they  had 
actually  become  "  the  teachers  of  the  whole  world,  and  that 
their  writings  or  books  were  held  in  so  great  authority  and 
esteem  that  they  had  been  translated  into  all  languages,  as 
well  of  the  barbarians  as  of  the  Greeks,  throughout  the  whole 
world,  and  that  they  were  studied. by  all  nations  and  be- 
lieved as  Divine  oracles."  Such  an  argument  could  not  have 
been  publicly  urged  and  circulated,  without  meeting  its  con- 
futation in  every  quarter,  but  on  the  known  and  undisputed 
certainty  of  the  fact  that  various  translations  of  the  Scrip- 
tures existed  at  the  time. 

Arnobius  and  Lactantius,  preceding  him  by  only  a  few 
years,  A.  D.  300,  wrote  regular  treatises  on  the  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion;  and  adopt  so  exclusively  and  fully  the 
histories  of  Christ  by  the  evangelists,  as  to  record  almost  all 
that  they  had  related  concerning  the  Author  of  their  faith. 
In  the  latter  half  of  the  previous  century,  various  successive 
Christian  writers  in  Asia,  Egypt,  and  Europe* — from  whose 
works,  comments  on  the  Scriptures,  and  editions  of  the  New 
Testament,  it  is  manifest  that  "  the  Scripture  histories  and 
the  same  histories  were  known  and  received  from  the  one 
side  of  the  Christian  world  to  the  other" — bring  us  up  to  the 
time  of  Cj'prian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  in  whose  writings 
there  are  constant  and  copious  "  citations  from  the  Scrip- 
tures," or,  as  he  terms  them,  the  Divine  Scriptures ;  and  in 
less  than  twenty  years  thereafter — other  writers  still  not 
leaving  that  brief  space  unoccupied — we  come  up  to  the  days 
of  the  learned  and  celebrated  Origen.  But  while  this  con- 
nected evidence  is  borne  by  writers  holding  the  office  of  bish- 
ops and  presbyters  of  the  church,  in  the  same  interval  some 
who  were  charged  with  heretical  opinions,  and  who  held  re- 
spectively contradictory  and  irreconcilable  tenets,  though 
trying  to  wrest  the  Scriptures  to  their  views,  acknowledged 
their  authority  with  equal  deference. 

The  days  of  Origen  bring  us  to  the  period  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  years  after  the  scriptures,  according  to  the 
united  testimony  of  the  earliest  Christians,  were  published. 
Of  Origen  we  read  as  of  any  modern  talented  preacher, 
abundant  in  labours,  and  earnest  in  the  propagation  of  Chris- 
tian truth.     By  special  license,  as  it  may  be  said,  he  was  au- 

*  Lardner,  vol.  iii.    Paley,  c.  ix.,  ^  1,  15-17.    • 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  189 

thorized  to  expound  the  scriptures,  without  having  been  pre- 
viously ordained  a  presbyter,  while  visiting  Palestine  about 
the  year  216.  He  testifies  of  the  scriptures  being  read  in  the 
churches,  followed  by  a  discourse  for  explication  delivered 
to  the  people.  While  preaching  was  the  practice,  scrip  ture 
supplied  the  text.  And  the  testimony,  speaking  for  itself, 
yet  remains  of  many  of  Origen's  discourses  or  commenta- 
ries upon  the  scriptures  of  the  New  Testament,  preached 
sixteen  hundred  years  ago  in  the  assemblies  of  the  church. 
Of  the  scriptures  he  frequently  speaks,  as  in  familiar  and 
well-known  terms,  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  the  ancient 
and  new  scriptures,  the  ancient  and  new  oracles.  And  he 
refers  to  them  "  not  as  to  a»y  private  books,  or  such  as  are 
read  by  a  few  only,  but  in  books  read  by  everybody."* 
"  Origen's  works  afford  assurance  of  the  integrity  of  our 
present  copies  of  the  New  Testament.  And,  as  Dr.  Mill 
says,  if  we  had  all  his  works  remaining,  who  published  scho- 
lia, or  commentaries,  or  homihes  upon  almost  all  the  books 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  we  should  have  before  us 
almost  the  whole  text  of  the  Bible,  as  it  was  read  in  his 
tinie."t 

On  the  revival  of  learning,  after  the  invention  of  printing 
had  multiphed  copies  of  the  works  of  the  ancients,  and  be- 
fore the  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  was 
questioned  as  in  more  recent  times,  the  early  as  well  as  late 
editions  of  Christian  and  profane  writers  were  laboriously  sup- 
plied with  copious  indexes,  which  set  forth  to  view  the  sub- 
jects treated  of,  and  the  authors  cited  in  the  respective  works. 
And  the  labour  of  constructing  these,  and  selecting  and  clas- 
sifying the  quotations,  is  now  available  for  supplying  a  pal- 
pable evidence  how  uniformly  and  frequently  the  Christian 
Scriptures  were  appealed  to,  and  the  very  words  quoted,  in 
the  earliest  ages.  "Although,"  as  Paley  well  remarks,  "it 
is  of  no  purpose  to  single  out  quotations  of  Scripture  from 
such  a  writer  as  Origen,  and  we  might  as  well  make  a  col- 
lection of  the  quotations  of  Scripture  in  Dr.  Clarke's  Ser- 
mons," yet  the  reader  may  see,  from  the  simple  mode  of  the 
conclusive  demonstration  which  the  index  to  each  volume  of 
his  remaining  works  supphes,  that  quotations  from  Scripture 
are  "  thickly  sown  in  the  works  of  Origen."  And  it  is  well 
worthy  of  remark,  as  Lardner  has  fully  shown,  that  "he  ad- 
mitted no  other  as  sacred  books  besides  those  in  our  present 
canon."t    See  Table. 

*  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  516,  522.     Paley,  ibid. 

f  Lardner,  vol.  ii ,  p.  573.  t  Ibid.,  p.  577. 


190 


OF    THE    GENUINENESS 


Quotations  from  the  New  Testament  in  the  Extant  Works  of  Ongen, 
A.  D.  230. 


Matthew 

Mark 

Luke 

John 

Acts 

Romans 

1  Corinthians 

2  Corinthians , 
Galatians 
Ephesians 
Philippians 
Cohissians 

1  Thessalonians 

2  Thessalonians 

1  Timothy 

2  Timothy 
Titus 
Philemon 
Hebrews 
James 

1  Peter 

2  Peter 
1  John 
Jude 
Revelation 


Vol.  I. 

Vol.  II. 

Vol.  III. 

Vol.  IV. 

152 

206 

735 

259 

15- 

18 

94 

68 

74 

102 

308 

165 

118 

132 

175 

350 

21 

32 

50 

44 

89 

98 

111 

433 

120 

169 

161 

170 

50 

58 

51 

79 

30 

41 

32 

47 

29 

28 

39 

39 

.1 

23 

13 

23 

22 

24 

27 

7 

13 

18 

10 

7 

3 

10 

6 

15 

21 

30 

26 

9 

20 

10 

16 

3 

3 

7 

5 

0 

0 

3 

0 

26 

51 

40 

37 

1 

11 

2 

6 

9 

12 

17 

12 

2 

2 

0 

1 

13 

24 

13 

27 

3 

0 

2 

1 

3 

6 

25 

26 

823 


1095 


1970 


1877 


No  evidence  can  be  more  palpable  than  that  of  the  antiquity 
and  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  as  still 
farther  illustrated,  in  a  similar  manner,  by  the  writings  of 
the  earlier  fathers.  Their  extant  works  only  need  to  be 
opened,  and  a  page,  taken  at  random,  to  be  read,  in  order  to 
see  how  uniformly  the  oracles  of  their  faith  were  consulted 
and  quoted  in  these  earlier  ages,  to  a  degree  seldom  equalled 
and  never  surpassed  in  the  present  day.  Their  writings 
show  how  full  their  minds  were  of  the  narratives  and  doc- 
trines contained  in  the  gospel,  and  how  frequently  these  were 
crowded  together  in  their  pages.  And,  while  each  sentence 
is  a  witness,  so  obvious  and  voluminous  is  the  evidence,  that 
the  "  index  to  passages  cited"  in  their  works  presents  in 
each  volume  proof  after  proof,  which  may  be  shown  and 
seen  at  a  glance,  in  all  the  force  of  figures  and  all  the  vivid- 
ness of  ocular  demonstration. 

Ascending  still  nearer  to  the  age  of  the  apostles,  and  tra- 
cmg  up  the  stream  to  the  fountain-head  of  the  Christian 
faith,  the  names  of  TertuUian  and  Clement,  as  they  bear  tes- 
timony by  their  existing  writings,  are  conspicuous  in  the 
early  Christian  annals.  They  preceded  Origen  by  thirty 
years.    But  the  short  interval   between  Origen  and   them 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  191 

"  was  occupied  by  no  small  number  of  Christian  writers," 
whose  works  remain  only  partially,  or  as  quoted  in  later  and 
more  voluminous  writings.  Yet  in  every  one  of  them,  as 
they  are  subsequently  specified  in  a  general  note,  is  some 
reference  or  other  to  the  gospels.  One  gives  an  al3stract  of 
the  whole  gospel  history.  Another  wrote  "  an  epistle  on 
the  apparent  difference  in  the  genealogies  in  Matthew  and 
Luke,  which  he  endeavours  to  reconcile  by  the  distinction  of 
natural  and  legal  descent,  and  constructs  his  hypothesis  with 
great  industry  through  the  whole  series  of  generations."* 
A  third  composed  a  harmony  of  the  four  gospels.  And 
within  the  same  period,  various  sects,  afterward  specified 
in  like  manner,  who  were  marked  by  some  peculiar  opin- 
ions, had  their  origin,  all  of  whom  received  and  appealed  in 
their  controversies  to  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 

TertuUian  preceded  Origen  thirty  j^ears  in  the  date  of  his 
writings,  and  flourished  about  a  century  after  the  death  of 
the  apostle  John.  He  speaks  repeatedly  of  the  Christian 
Scriptures  as  "  the  gospel  and  the  apostles ;"  and,  like  other 
writers  of  that  early  age,  quotes  them  "  without  so  much  as 
a  suspicion  of  placing  any  other  in  the  same  rank  with 
them."t  Clement  of  Alexandria  (A.  D.  194),  contemporary 
with  TertuUian,  designates  the  writings  of  the  evangelists 
"  the  Gospels ;"  and,  in  quoting  the  New  Testament,  he  names 
the  apostolic  epistles  and  "  the  scriptures''' — "  the  divine  scrip- 
tures,''''X  &c. 

In  the  works  of  Irenaeus  "  there  are  numerous  and  long 
quotations  of  most  of  the  books  of  the  New  Testament  as 
sacred  and  divine  scripture y^  Like  others  of  the  Fathers,  he 
declares  that  the  scriptures  "  are  open  and  clear,  and  may 
be  read  by  all ;"  that  they  were  read  and  studied  at  that  early 
period,  and  universally  recognised  and  acknowledged  by 
Christians  as  the  oracles  of  Divine  truth,  his  writings,  and 
those  of  Clement  and  of  TertuUian,  as  well  as  those  of 
others  in  various  places  and  of  still  earlier  date,  abundantly 
show.     See  Table. 

*  See  Lardner's  Cred.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  306-468.    Paley,  chap,  ix.,  $  1,  13. 
t  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  305.  %  Ibid.,  p.  245,  246.  ^  Ibid. 


192 


OF   THE    0ENUINENBS6 


Quotationa  from  New  Testament  in  Tertidliany*  Clement  of 
Alexandria,  and  Irenanis. 


Matthow 
Mark  . 
Luke  . 
John    . 
Acts 
Romans 

1  Corinthians 

2  Corinthians 
Galatians     . 
Ephesians   . 
Philippians  . 
Colossians  . 

1  Thessalonians 

2  Thessalonians 

1  Timothy  . 

2  Timothy  . 
Titus 

Hebrews     . 
James 

1  Peter 

1  John 

2  John 

3  John 
Revelation  . 


Clemens 

Tertullian, 

Alexandrinus, 

Irensus, 

A.D.20«, 

A.  D.  194. 

A.  D.  178. 

290 

105 

195 

25 

9 

16 

420 

23 

127 

175 

36 

76 

68 

8 

57 

120 

37 

.     66 

219 

59 

67 

68 

14 

14 

67 

14 

22 

64 

15 

27 

31 

11 

10 

24 

8 

10 

24 

4 

2 

18 

1 

8 

33 

11 

5 

18 

5 

5 

5        • 

2 

2 

12 

11 

9 

2 

0 

3 

12 

8 

5 

39 

6 

6 

0 

0 

3 

2 

0 

0 

66 

2 

33 

1802t 


389 


767 


The  evidence  of  the  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament 
thus  becomes  the  more  direct  and  decisive  as  we  reach  the 
borders  of  the  apostolic  age.  In  those  days  of  fiery  perse- 
cution, while  Christians  had  ever  to  be  ready  to  testify  unto 
the  death,  there  are  not  wanting  written  records  to  bear  wit- 
ness concerning  the  faith  and  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  till  we  be 
led  step  by  step  to  the  period  of  the  first  preaching  of  the 
gospel  to  all  nations.  Irenaeus,  who  in  his  youth  was  the 
disciple  of  Polycarp,  who  was  a  disciple  of  the  apostle  John, 
preceded  Clement  about  sixteen  years,  as  Clement  was  prior 
to  Tertullian  by  a  still  shorter  period;  so  that  their  several 
testimonies,  though  borne  in  different  places,  may  be  said  to 
be  continuous,  so  as  to  keep  each  link  connected  to  the  last. 

The  slight  allusions  to  the  writings  of  the  primitive  Chris- 

*  Tert.  edit.  Paris,  1608.    Clement,  Lut.  Paris,  1631. 

+  Many  of  these  passages  are  repeated  in  his  works  more  or  less  fully  ; 
and  his  citations,  if  the  repetitions  were  included,  would  exceed  3000.  The 
extant  works  of  many  of  the  fathers  give  ample  proof  of  their  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  works  of  ancient  philosophers,  historians,  and  poets, 
&c.  Tertullian  quotes  about  200  profane  authors,  besides  Christian  wri- 
ters and  heretics  ;  Clement  quotes  the  works  of  more  than  250  heathen 
writers. 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  193 

tian  authors,  and  even  the  numerical  exhibition  of  their  quo- 
tations from  the  books  of  the  New  Testament,  exclusive  of 
numberless  scriptural  facts  and  expressions,  can  convey  but 
an  inadequate  idea  of  the  fulness  and  the  strength  of  their 
testimony, 

A  single  passage  adduced  by  Lardner  may  be  quoted,  in 
which  Tertullian  thus  emphatically  speaks  of  the  apostolical 
epistles,  and  of  the  testimony  then  borne  to  their  authenticity 
and  genuineness.  "  Well,  if  you  be  willing  to  exercise  your 
curiosity  profitably  in  the  business  of  your  salvation,  visit 
the  apostolical  churches,  in  which  the  very  chairs  of  the 
apostles  still  preside  in  their  own  places  ;  in  which  their  very 
authentic  letters  are  recited,  sounding  forth  the  voice,  and  rep- 
resenting the  countenance  of  each  one  of  them.  Is  Achaia 
near  you?  You  have  Corinth.  If  you  are  not  far  from 
Macedonia,  you  have  Philippi,  you  have  Thessalonica.  If 
you  can  go  to  Asia,  you  have  Ephesus.  But  if  you  are  near 
to  Italy,  you  have  Rome,  from  whence  we  also  may  be  easily 
satisfied.'"*  There  are  existing  manuscripts  of  the  New 
Testament  which  are  undoubtedly  far  older  than  the  original 
writings  then  were,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  these 
should  have  been  preserved  for  more  than  a  century  and  a 
half.  Copies  of  them  wer-e  doubtless  to  be  seen  in  every 
other  church,  as  quoted  by  every  Christian  writer,  and  trans- 
lated into  Latin  before  the  days  of  Tertullian,  and  "vulgarly 
used."  But  to  see  the  very  chairs  of  the  apostles  standing 
in  their  own  places,  and  to  hear  their  very  authentic  letters 
recited,  it  was  needful,  but  only  needful,  to  visit  at  that  time 
the  apostolical  churches  to  which  they  were  addressed. 

The  testimony  of  Irenaeus  is  of  so  high  antiquity  that  it 
demands  a  specific  illustration.  He  shows  throughout  his 
works  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Gospels,  the  Acts,  and 
the  Epistles;  and  he  quotes  the  books  of  the  New  Testament 
as  the  Divine  Scriptures,  the  Divine  oracles,  the  Scriptures 
of  the  Lord.  In  a  passage  contained  in  the  old  Latin  version, 
and  partly  cited  in  Greek  by  Eusebius,  he  bears  the  most  ex- 
plicit testimony  concerning  the  gospels.  "  We  have  not  re- 
ceived," says  he,  "  the  knowledge  of  the  way  of  our  salva- 
tion by  any  others  than  those  by  whom  the  gospel  has  been 
brought  to  us.  Which  gospel  they  first  preached,  and  after- 
ward, by  the  will  of  God,  committed  to  writing,  that  it  might 
be  for  time  to  come  the  foundation  and  pillar  of  our  faith. 

*  "Age  jam  qui  volis  curiositatem  melius  exercere  in  negotio  salutis  tuje, 
percurre  Ecclesias  Apostolicas  apud  quas  ippae  adiiuc  cathedrae  Apostolo- 
rum  suis  locis  presidenlur,  apud  quas  ipsae  authenticae  hterae  eorum  reci- 
tantur,  sonantesvocern,  et  representantes  facem  uniuscujusque.  Proxime 
est  tibi  Achaia?  habes  Corinthum.  Si  non  longe  es  a  Macedonia,  habes 
Philippas,  habes  Thessalonicenas.  Si  potes  in  Asiam  tendere,  habes  Ephe- 
8um  :'  si  autem  ItalisB  adjacis,  habes  Romam,  unde  nobis  quoque  auctoritas 
praesto  est."— Tert.  Adv.  Heraet.,  c.  36,  p.  338. 

R 


194  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

For  after  that  our  Lord  arose  from  the  dead,  and  they  (the 
apostles)  were  endowed  from  above  with  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  coming  down  upon  them,  they  received  a  per- 
fect knowledge  of  all  things.  They  then  went  forth  to  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  declaring  to  ijien  the  blessing  of  heav- 
enly peace,  having  all  of  them,  and  every  one, 'alike  the  gos- 
pel of  God.  Matthew,  then  among  the  Jews,  wrote  a  gos- 
pel in  their  own  language,  while  Peter  and  Paul  were  preach- 
ing the  gospel  at  Rome,  and  founding  a  church  there ;  and 
after  their  exit  Mark,  also  the  disciple  and  interpreter  of 
Peter,  dehvered  to  us  in  writing  the  things  that  had  been 
preached  by  Peter ;  and  Luke,  the  companion  of  Paul,  put 
down  in  a  book  the  gospel  preached  by  him  (Paul).  After- 
ward John,  the  disciple  of  the  Lord,  who  also  leaned  upon 
his  breast,  likewise  published  a  gospel  while  he  dwell  at  Ephe- 
sus  in  Asia."*  Were  any  mooern  divine  to  write  a  book  on 
the  genuineness  of  the  gospels,  he  could  not  assert  it  more 
expressly,  or  slate  their  original  more  distinctly,  than  Irense- 
us  did  within  the  space  of  about  a  century  after  the  last  of 
them  was  published. 

*'  The  correspondence,  in  the  days  of  Irenajus,  of  the  oral 
and  written  tradition,  and  the  deduction  of  the  oral  tnidition 
through  various  channels  from  the  age  of  the  apostles,  which 
was  then  lately  passed,  and,  by  consequence,  the  probability 
that  the  books  truly  delivered  what  the  apostles  taught,  is 
inferred  also  with  strict  regularity  from  another  passage  of 
his  works.  'The  tradition  of  the  apostles,'  this  father  saith, 
'hath  spread  itself  over  the  whole  universe;  and  all  they 
who  search  after  the  sources  of  truth  will  find  this  tradition 
to  be  held  sacred  in  every  church.  We  might  enumerate  all 
those  who  have  been  appointed  bishops  to  these  churches  by 
the  apostles,  and  all  their  successors  up  to  our  days.  It  is 
by  this  uninterrupted  succession  that  we  have  received  the 
tradition  which  actually  exists  in  the  church,  as  also  the  doc- 
trines of  truth,  as  it  was  preached  by  the  apostles. 'f  The 
reader  will  observe  upon  this,  that  the  same  Irenaeus  who  is 
now  stating  the  strength  and  uniformity  of  the  tradition,  we 
have  before  seen  recognising  in  the  fullest  manner  the  au- 
thority of  the  written  record ;  from  which  we  are  entitled  to 
conclude  that  they  were  then  conformable  to  each  other. "J 

Irenaeus  may  have  exercised  his  fancy  in  attempting  to 
show  that  there  could  be  neither  more  nor  fewer  gospels  than 
four;  yet  it  is  the  more  apparent  that  such  a  subject  could 
never  have  formed  matter  of  discussion,  and  that  such  a 
thought  could  never  have  entered  his  mind,  except  solely  on 
the  acknowledged  and  indisputable  certainty  of  the  fact,  that 
there  were  four  gospels,  and  four  only.    "  He  mentions  how 

*  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  169,  170.     Paley. 

t  Irenaeusi  in  Her.,  lib.  iii.,  c.  3.  X  Paley's  Evid.,  ix.,  ^  1. 


OF    THE   NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  195 

Matthew  begins  his  gospel,  how  Mark  begins  and  ends  his, 
and  their  supposed  reasons  for  so  doing.  He  enumerates 
at  length  the  several  passages  of  Christ's  history  in  Luke 
which  are  not  found  in  any  of  the  other  evangelists.  He 
states  the  particular  design  with  which  St.  John  composed 
his  gospel,  and  accounts  for  the  docirinal  declarations  which 
precede  the  narrative.  To  the  Book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, its  author,  and  credit,  the  testimony  of  Irenaeus  is  no 
less  exphcit."*  He  who  referred  to  the  uniformity  and  uni- 
versality of  the  traditions  held  sacred  throughout  the  church- 
es, speaks  of  the  author  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  as  hav- 
ing related  the  truth  with  the  greatest  exactness.  And  he 
actually  collected  the  several  texts,  in  which  the  writer  of 
the  history  is  represented  as  accompanying  Paul,  which  leads 
him  to  deliver  a  summary  of  almost  the  whole  of  the  last 
twelve  chapters  of  the  book.  And  in  an  author  thus  abound- 
ing with  references  and  allusions  to  Scriptures,  there  is  not 
one  to  any  apocryphal  writings  whatever.  "  This,"  as  Paley 
observes,  "  is  a  broad  line  of  distinction  between  our  sacred 
books  and  all  others."! 

While  Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  in  Syria,  who  was 
contemporary  with  Irenaeus,  calls  the  gospel  of  Matthew  "  the 
Evangelic  Voice ;"  Irenaeus,  who  presided  over  the  Chris- 
tian Church  at  Lyons,  in  France,  designates  the  Scriptures 
in  the  same  terms  as  those  which,  nearly  at  the  same  time, 
were  appropriated  to  them  by  Clement  of  Alexandria,m  Egypt, 
and  Tertullian  of  Carthage:  "Divine  Scriptures,"  "Divine 
Oracles,"  "'Scriptures  of  the  Lord,"  "  Evangelic  and  Apos- 
tolic writings."  And  thus,  at  that  early  age,  the  same  tes- 
timony is  borne  concerning  them  in  Asia,  Europe,  and  Af- 
rica. 

At  that  period,  while  the  traditions  concerning  the  facts 
were  so  direct,  recent,  and  universal,  the  circumstances  con- 
nected with  the  life,  the  death,  and  the  credited  resurrection 
of  Jesus,  and  also  with  the  preaching,  the  labours,  and  the 
perils  of  the  apostles  of  Jesus  and  first  propagators  of  the 
gospel,  must,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  have  been 
subjects  of  intense  interest  and  diligent  inquiry  on  the  part 
of  all  who  jeoparded  their  lives  every  hour  for  the  name  of 
Christian,  and  who  were  ever  ready  to  stake  their  earthly 
existence  rather  than  barter  for  the  breath  of  life  the  hope 
of  immortality  through  the  faith  of  Jesus.  That  man  is  lit- 
tle versant  even  in  the  forms  of  spiritual  things,  and  prizes 
but  slightly  the  means  of  their  attainment,  who,  though  ad- 
vanced in  years,  cannot "  enumerate"  the  names  of  the  preach- 
ers under  whose  ministry  he  has  regularly  and  successively 
sat,  and  who  cannot  tell  something  more  concerning  them 

♦  Paley's  Evid.,  ix.,  ^  I.  f  Ibid.    Lardner  vol.  ii.  165-192. 


196  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

than  their  names.  Weak  indeed,  even  in  ordinary  life,  is 
that  curiosity  which  never  stretches  back  a  little  space  to  in- 
vestigate any  eventful  transactions  of  a  preceding  nge  ;  and 
which  cares  not  to  question  the  grayheaded  fathers  of  a  pas- 
sing or  of  a  past  generation,  of  whaithey  had  seen  in  their 
early  years,  or  of  the  great  things  that  may  have  happened 
in  their  time.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  in  any  register  of 
mortality,  or  even  iji  the  brief  obituary  which  a  newspaper 
supplies,  some  allusion  to  the  events  that  were  coeval  with 
the  early  days  of  those  who  have  died  at  an  extreme  Did  age. 
And  it  is  not  to  be  credited,  to  adopt  an  illustration  some- 
what in  point,  that  the  remembrance  of  the  sayings  and  suf- 
ferings of  those  who  suffered  at  the  stake  for  conscience' 
sake  in  Scotland,  or  during  the  days  of  "  the  bloody  Mary" 
in  England,  died  away  before  the  then  existing  generation 
was  entombed,  or  that  their  memory  perished  even  with 
their  children's  children.  Whether  relating  to  things  civil  or 
sacred,  tradition  preserves  for  a  time  every  memorable  trans- 
action ;  and  hence  that  epithet  is  often  applied  to  events 
which  have  any  tendency  to  affect  the  interests  of  futurity, 
or  which  were  accounted  of  moment  in  their  acted  time. 
When  such  traditions  are  uniform,  and  the  facts  both  recent 
and  influential,  the  testimony  is  deemed  conclusive,  and  it 
affords  one  of  the  most  general  as  well  as  most  natural  means 
whereby  the  inquisitiveness  of  the  human  mind  is  excited 
and  developed ;  and  it  may  be  said  that  history,  in  general, 
has  from  hence  had  its  origin,  rather  than  from  records  borne 
by  eyewitnesses  of  the  facts.  The  various  application  of 
this  principle -at  the  present  day  may  be  illustrated  in  some 
degree  by  the  seemingly  incongruous  reference  to  the  re- 
bellion in  Scotland  in  1745,  and  the  origin  of  Wesleyanism 
in  England.  It  is  not  likely  that  any,  in  the  one  case,  who 
had  seen  "  the  prince,"  or  any,  in  the  other,  who  had  con- 
versed with  Wesley,  would  either  fail  or  need  to  be  remind- 
ed of  it  to  their  dying  day.  No  Jacobite,  and  surely  not  a 
native  in  the  former  country,  nor  any  Methodist,  we  speak 
it  respectfully,  in  the  latter,  w^ould  fail  to  be  inquisitive,  in 
either  case,  wherever  any  fact  could  be  elucidated,  or  any 
minute  information  be  supplied,  by  evidence  the  most  direct 
and  satisfactory.  And  is  it  conceivable  that  such  feelings 
were  dormant  and  dead,  and  such  a  principle  at  rest  among 
those  who  so  firmly  believed  in  Jesus,  that  they  suffered  the 
loss  of  all  things  for  his  name's  sake,  who  were  willing  to 
show  their  steadfastness  unto  death,  and  who,  in  every  coun- 
try under  heaven,  might  have  heard  from  the  lips  of  their 
forefathers  what  their  ears  had  heard  from  the  lips  of  apos- 
tles, and  who  could  look  at  them  pointing  to  the  places  which 
they  had  trod,  or  to  the  spots  where  they  had  preached,  or 
where  they  died.    But  while  universal  tradition  was  appealed 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  197 

to  in  a  maimer  that  no  effrontery  could  have  risked,  if  not 
fully  borne  out  by  the  fact,  written  testimony  is  conjoined 
with  oral,  even  prior  to  the  time  when  they  have  so  strikingly 
and  conclusively  met.  And  the  man  whose  mind  has  been 
wrought  up  to  that  high  and  extravagant  skepticism,  vi^ich 
may  prompt  him  to  think  that  the  remembrance  of  a  hoary- 
headed  and  exiled  apostle,  or  of  a  martyred  minister,  could 
speedily  have  been  obliterated  from  the  minds  of  those  who 
had  been  instructed  by  them  in  the  faith*,  for  which  they,  too, 
were  ready  and  willing  to  die,  may  pass  over,  as  unworthy 
of  his  notice  or  unsuited  to  his  taste,  the  following  testimony 
of  Irenaeus,  concerning  the  things  which  Polycarp  had  told 
him  of  the  man  who  had  leaned  on  the  bosom  of  Jesus.  Yet 
some,  guided  by  wisdom  of  another  order,  may  rightly  hold 
it  as  highly  appreciable,  by  reason  as  by  sensibility,  while 
they  deem  it  irrational  to  put  off  the  feelings  of  humanity, 
and  to  forget  the  common  law  of  our  nature  by  withholdmg 
their  confidence  from  such  clear,  harmonious,  full,  and  touch- 
ing testimony,  in  homage  to  those  who,  maddened,  perhaps, 
by  the  witness  which  they  bear,  rail  at  those  fathers  of  the 
church  who,  from  the  holiness  of  their  lives,  as  testified  by 
their  enemies,  have  a  right  to  disown  all  such  mockers  as 
their  children. 

"  I  can  tell  the  place,"  saith  Irenaeus,  "  in  which  the  bless- 
ed Polycarp  sat  and  .taught,  and  his  going  out  and  coming 
in,  and  the  manner  of  his  life,  and  the  form  of  his  person,  and 
the  discourses  he  made  to  the  people,  and  how  he  related 
his  conversation  with  John,  and  others  who  had  seen  the 
Lord,  and  how  he  related  their  sayings,  and  what  he  had  heard 
concerning  the  Lord,  both  concerning  his  miracles  and  his 
doctrine  as  he  had  received  them  from  the  eyewitnesses  of 
the  word  of  life ;  all  which  Polycarp  relates  agreeable  to  the 
scriptures."* 

"  Not  many  wise  men  after  the  flesh,"  saith  the  scripture, 
"  not  many  mighty,  not  many  noble,"  were  called.  And  con- 
sistent with  this  declaration,  and  with  the  known  persecu- 
tions which  Christians  endured  in  the  earliest  ages,  and  the 
contempt  in  which  their  very  name  was  held,  we  are  not  to 
look  for  many  writers  while  the  traditions  were  yet  vivid 
and  complete  in  every  church  ;  nor  are  we  taught  to  look  for 
profound  reasoning  or  the  most  logical  deductions  from  all 
of  those  who  then  left  their  testimony  in  writing  to  future 
ages  And  although  there  are  not  many,  there  are  some,  and 
a  sufficient  number,  to  carry  on  the  testimony  to  its  comple- 
tion, and  to  unite  the  narratives  of  uninspired  men  as  closely 
to  the  writings  of  the  evangelists  and  apostles,  as  those  of 
more  recent  writings  join  in  contemporaneously  and  succes- 
sively with  one  another. 

*  Paley's  Evid.,  chap  ix.,  $  1.    I  Cor.,  i.  26. 
R  2 


198  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

The  writings  of  Irenaeus,  however  explicit  in  regard  to  the 
uniformity  and  universality  of  the  traditions  and  genuineness 
of  the  scriptures,  stand  not  alone  even  at  that  early  date. 
And,  if  possible,  stronger  evidence  of  the  antiquity  of  the 
sacred  writings,  and  of  the  authority  attached  exclusively  to 
the  gospels,  as  the  scriptural  records  of  the  Hfe  of  Christ, 
than  any  general  references  or  express  quotations  could  sup- 
ply, is  afforded  by  the  fact  that  a  harmony  or  collation  of  the 
gospels  (such  as  continue  to  be  published  to  the  present  day) 
was  composed  by  Tatian,  a  disciple  of  Justin  Martyr,  the 
name  of  which  alone,  viz.,  Diatessaron,  or  the  four,  plainly  in- 
timates their  known  and  acknowledged  number  in  the  ear- 
liest as  well  as  the  latest  ages. 

The  same  Christian  charity  and  love  of  the  brotherhood 
which,  as  their  enemies  bear  witness,  was  associated  with 
the  name,  as  peculiarly  exemplified  by  their  mutual  sympa- 
thy and  affection,  not  only  bound  together  the  members  of 
each  church,  even  as  if  literally  "  members  one  of  another," 
but,  in  a  more  general  sense,  was  extended  towards  the 
whole  body  of  behevers,  and  was  not,  like  the  boasted  love 
of  their  country  among  the  Romans,  limited  to  any  land,  or 
restricted  to  that  reputed  witchcraft-power  which  could  not 
pass  a  stream.  We  have  already  learned  from  Tacitus  and 
Phny  that  Christians  were  subjected  to  persecuiions,  alike 
at  the  centre  of  the  empire  and  a  distant  province.  And  such 
was  the  intercourse  and  harmony  that  prevailed  among  those 
whom  seas  could  not  divide  in  affection,  nor  any  Rubicon 
separate  as  aliens,  that  churches,  as  well  as  individuals,  could 
express  their  sympathy  or  relate  their  sufferings,  and  bear  a 
common  testimony  as  possessing  a  common  faith.  The 
churches  of  Lyons  and  Vienne  in  France,  before  Irenaeus 
was  their  pastor,  sent  a  narrative  of  the  sufferings  of  their 
martyrs  to  the  churches  of  Asia  and  Phrygia,  which  has  been 
preserved  entire  by  Eusebius,  and  was  written  at  the  time 
when  the  personal  recollection  of  their  venerable  bishop, 
Photinus,  ninety  years  old,  could  reach  back  to  the  time  of 
the  death  of  the  last  apostles ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  the 
churches  testified  that  these  words  which  the  Lord  had  spo- 
ken, and  which  that  evangelist  records,  had  in  their  experi- 
ence been  fulfilled.  "  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  was  spo- 
ken by  the  Lord,  that  whosoever  killeth  you  will  think  he 
doth  God  service."  Such  was  the  identity  of  the  faith  in  all 
the  churches,  and  so  familiar  to  believers  was  scriptural 
phraseology,  that  that  epistle  alone  contains  passages  which, 
without  expressly  naming  them,  have  a  reference  to  no  less 
than  twelve  books  of  the  New  Testament,  several  of  the  quo- 
tations being  exactly  conformable  to  the  Greek  original.* 

*  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  160-165. 


OP  THE    NEW   TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  199 

Similar  "  concurring  testimonies,"  either  direct  or  implied, 
are  supplied  from  every  quarter  and  from  every  work,  to  the 
fact  related,  about  the  same  period,  by  Hegesippus,  a  Chris- 
tian writer,  in  describing  what  he  witnessed  in  his  journey 
from  Palestine  to  Rome,  that  "  in  every  succession  and  in 
every  city  the  same  doctrine  is  taught  which  the  law,  and  the 
prophets,  and  the  Lord  teacheth,"  And  in  the  small  frag- 
ments of  his  works  preserved  by  Eusebius  and  Photius, 
"  the  style  of  the  scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  often  ap- 
pears."* The  epistles  to  Diognatus  (supposed  to  be  Justin's) 
contain  in  a  few  pages  many  passages  from  the  epistles  of 
the  New  Testament;  and  the  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians 
is  thus  quoted  :  "  The  apostle  says,  knowledge  pufFeth  up,  but 
charity  edifieth."t 

Justin,  having  successively  adopted  various  systems  of  phi- 
losophy, became  a  convert  (about  the  year  of  our  era  132  or 
133)  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  blood-bought  iiWeoi  Mar- 
tyr was  added  to  his  name.  His  undoubted  works  still  ex- 
tant are  two  Apologies,  the  one  presented  to  the  Emperor 
Titus  Antoninus,  and  the  other  to  Marcus  Antoninus,  and  a  Di- 
alogue with  a  Jew.  Neither  in  writing  to  an  emperor  nor  in 
arguing  with  an  Israelite  could  he  assume  the  truth  of  the 
New  Testament  or  quote  it  so  freely  as  if  addressing  believ- 
ers. Nor,  though  more  copious  than  those  which  preceded 
him,  are  his  works  nearly  so  voluminous  as  those  of  Origen, 
Clement,  or  Tertullian.  Yet  "from  his  works  might  be 
extracted  almost  a  complete  life  of  Christ"  as  written  in 
the  gospels. J  His  citations  from  the  New  Testament,  as 
noted  even  in  the  index  to  his  works,  exceed  ninety ;  but  as 
estimated  by  Jones,  quoted  by  Paley,  above  two  hundred. 
Phny,  in  his  letter  to  Trajan,  relates  that  Christians  convened 
for  worship  on  a  stated  day ;  and  Justin,  in  his  Apology  ad- 
dressed to  another  emperor,  records  the  nature  of  their  ser- 
vice. No  misrepresentation  could  have  been  given  of  a  fact 
which  was  open  to  inspection  in  every  pan  of  the  emperor's 
dominions,  and  of  which  every  Christian  of  that  time  was  in- 
dividually the  weekly  witness.  The  brief  and  artless  de- 
scription is  a  practical  illustration  of  the  simplicity  of  the  gos- 
pel-worship, of  the  recognised  conformity  of  the  writings  of 
the  Jewish  prophets  and  Christian  apostles,  and  of  the  uni- 
versal recognition,  at  that  early  period,  of  the  scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  as  the  rule  of  faith.  After  re- 
ferring to  the  institution  and  observance  of  the  sacrament  of 
the  supper,  as  commemorative  of  the  death  of  Christ,  and  to 
the  liberality,  mutual  sympathy,  and  piety  of  Christians,  he 

*  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  153,  155.  t  Ibid.,  p.  141. 

%  Justin,  in  quoting  a  passage  in  the  gospel  of  Matthew,  states,  in  the 
preceding  page,  that  the  commentaries  of  the  apostles  were  called  gospels. 
Ed.  Thirl.,  p.  96. 


200  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

adds,  "  On  Sunday,  as  it  is  called,  all  who  dwell  either  in 
towns  or  in  the  country  assemble  together  at  the  same  place, 
and  the  commentaries  or  memoirs  of  the  apostles*  or  the 
writings  of  the  prophets  arc  read,  as  the  time  allows;  and 
when  the  reader  has  ended,  the  president  makes  a  discourse, 
exhorting  to  the  imitation  of  so  excellent  things."!  Besides 
the  writings  of  the  evangelists,  passages  are  quoted  in  his 
works  from  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  eight  epistles  of  Paul, 
the  second  of  Peter,  and  the  book  of  the  Revelation,  which 
last  he  expressly  ascribes  to  John  the  apostle  of  Chjrist.J 

The  Christian  authors  who  preceded  Justin  had  personally 
seen  and  conversed  with  some  of  the  apostles,  and,  having 
been  eyewitnesses  of  their  acts,  carry  up  the  testimony 
within  the  apostolic  age.  While  the  apostles  themselves, 
with  the  evangelists  Mark  and  Luke,  connect  the  testimony 
with  the  days  of  Jesus,  whose  gospel  they  were  the  first  to 
go  out  and  preach  unto  the  world,  by  immediate  commission 
from  their  Master,  whom  we  cannot  nmne  else  than  Divine. 

Formal  treatises  in  defence  of  Christianity  were  not  writ- 
ten at  the  time  when  visible  miracles  were  ils  Divine  creden- 
tials. And  the  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  writings 
stood  not  in  need  of  vindication  at  the  time  when  the  salu- 
tation of  an  apostle  with  his  own  hand  was  the  token  or 
proof  in  every  epistle,  or  when  their  original  authentic  wri- 
tings were  to  be  seen  ;  and  when,  in  transmitting  them 
throughout  Christendom — then  wide-extended,  though  new — 
the  testimony  of  the  church  to  which  they  were  addressed, 
and  which  retained  the  original  scripture,  was  the  voucher 
of  each.  The  tardy  admission  of  some  of  the  epistles  into 
the  canon,  and  the  exclusion  of  apocryphal  works,  are  proofs 
of  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  "  the  Divine  Scrip- 
tures," which  were  universally  recognised,  without  question 
and  without  doubt.  And  that  such  was  the  fact  even  in  the 
apostolic  age,  proof,  where  needed,  is  not  wanting. 

We  need  not  Christian  testimony  to  show  how  speedily 
the  faith  of  Jesus  was  spread  throughout  the  world ;  how 
severely  his  followers  were  persecuted  for  his  name's  sake ; 
and  how  readily  they  rather  chose  to  be  sacrificed  for  Christ 
than  oflTer  incense  to  an  idol.  Of  these  facts  our  enemies 
are  witnesses.  We  have  heard  the  words  of  heathen  histo- 
rians ;  we  have  looked  into  the  edicts  and  letters  of  pagan 
emperors  and  rulers;  we  have  opened  volumes  teeming  with 
proofs  far  more  manifold  than  ever  were  given  to  the  genu- 
ineness of  any  book  which  Greece  or  Rome  ever  produced  ; 
we  have  glanced  at  the  direct  appeal  as  touching  notorious 
facts,  of  a  Christian  apologist  to  a  Roman  emperor;  and  the 
continuous  testimony  has  been  traced  to  the  time  when  the* 

*  See  preceding  note.  j  Justin,  ed.  Thirl.,  p.  97. 

t  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  132. 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.        .201 

religion  of  Jesus  was  new.  And  now,  were  there  any,  the 
most  secret  recesses  of  those  who  had  part  in  the  matter 
may  be  ransacked,  and  the  confidential  correspondent,  so  to 
speak,  of  the  agents  and  actors  in  the  scene,  may  be  scruti- 
nized. But  the  letters  which  might  here  be  produced,  and 
which  have  been  laid  open  for  ages  to  the  world,  are  those 
of  men  who  lived  and  died  unto  Him  who  said,  There  is  no- 
thing secret  which  shall  not  be  revealed,  nor  hid  that  shall 
not  be  known.  And  a  cursory  glance  at  their  epistles  wil] 
show  not  only  that  the  Christian  scriptures  existed,  but  that 
their  genuineness  and  authenticity  were  held  to  be  unques- 
tionable, and  that  their  authority  was  unhesitatingly  appeal- 
ed to  among  Christians  almost  as  soon  as  they  profess  to 
have  been  written. 

Epistolary  communications  between  individuals  and  church- 
es, resulting  from  their  actual  and  relative  condition,  may  in- 
cidentally and  undesignedly  disclose  facts,  and  establish 
their  certainty  as  conclusively  as  any  direct  testimony,  and 
more  free  from  even  the  pretence  of  a  cavil.  An  epistle  of 
Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna,  to  the  church  at  Philippi ; 
epistles  of  Ignatius,  bishop  of  Antioch,  or  one  to  each  of  the 
churches  at  Ephesus,  Magnesia,  Trallis,  Rome,  Philadelphia, 
and  Smyrna,  and  one  to  Polycarp ;  a  record  of  the  martyr- 
dom of  Polycarp  ;*  and  another  of  that  of  Ignatius  ;  a  work 
entitled  the  Pastor,  or  Shepherd,  ascribed  to  Hermas ;  an 
epistle  of  Clement,  bishop  of  Rome,  to  the  Corinthians  ;  and 
an  epistle  ascribed  to  Barnabas,  the  authorship  of  which  is 
questioned,  but  the  antiquity  of  which,  like  that  of  the  "  Shep- 
herd," is  undoubted ;  form  (exclusive  of  some  spurious 
works)  the  still  extant  Christian  writings  of  those  v^^ho  were 
the  disciples  or  contemporaries  of  the  apostles.  Can  any 
proof  be  deduced  from  these  writings  of  the  antiquity  and 
genuineness  of  the  scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  1 

Polycarp  was  a  Christian  minister  at  the  time  of  Justin's 
birth,  but  their  martyrdom  was  nearly  simultaneous  ;  and 
their  testimony  is  thus  connected  in  time  as  in  tendency, 
though  respectively  born  at  Smyrna  and  at  Rome.  But  in- 
stead of  a  volume,  a  single  short  epistle  is  the  only  extant 
writing  of  the  illustrious  Polycarp,f  who  presided  over  the 
church  of  Smyrna  before  the  close  of  the  first  century;  but 
it  alone  will  suffice  to  show  how  his  mind  was  imbued  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  Christian  scriptures.  There  is  scarcely 
a  line  in  the  letter  without  a  scriptural  expression.  The 
first  two  paragraphs  contain  at  least  eight  quotations  from 
the  gospels,- the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  three  of  the  epis- 

*  "The  acts  of  the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp,"  says  Gibbon,  "exhibit  a 
lively  picture  of  these  tumults"  (tumultuous  clamours  of  \e  people 
against  the  Christians).— Hist.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  422. 

t  Cotelerii  Patres  Apostolici,  vol.  ii.,  p.  186-189. 


20^  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

ties ;  and  they  conclude  literally  with  these  scriptural  ex- 
hortations :*  Not  rendering  evil  for  evil,  or  railing  for  rail- 
ing ;\  remembering  those  things  which  the  Lord  said,  teach- 
ing ;  judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged ;%  forgive,  and  ye  shall  he 
forgiven  ;^  he  ye  merciful,  that  ye  may  obtain  mercy  ,-||  with 
what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be  measured  to  you  again.^  And 
blessed  are  the  poor,  and  they  that  are  persecuted  for  righteous- 
ness^ sake  ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  God.''''**  And  who,  in 
a  Christian  land,  can  be  ignorant  that  these  are  the  sayings 
of  Christ,  as  recorded  by  the  evangelists  1  Or  what  stronger 
proof  could  be  given  of  the  antiquity,  genuineness,  and  ac- 
knowledged authenticity  of  the  scriptures,  in  the  earliest 
ages  of  the  church,  than  the  unreserved  manner  in  which 
they  are  quoted  by  the  apostolic  fathers,  who  called  upon 
those  whom  they  addressed  to  remember  what  the  Lord  said, 
and  to  give  heed  to  the  things  that  are  written  in  scripture, 
as  explicitly  and  as  authoritatively  as  any  preacher  could 
now  enforce  upon  a  Christian  audience  the  remembrance 
and  observance  of  the  words  of  the  Lord,  or  appeal  to  the 
Holy  Scriptures  as  the  known,  acknowledged,  and  undoubt- 
ed rule  of  faith  and  of  practice. 

Did  Polycarp  speak  of  writings  unknown  to  himself  or  to 
the  Philippians,  when,  after  bewailing  the  falling  away  of 
Valens,  who  was  once  a  presbyter  among  them,  he  express- 
ed his  confidence  in  their  steadfastness  :  "  But  I  am  confi- 
dent that  ye  are  well  exercised  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  jarnd 
that  nothing  is  hidden  from  you  ?"  Or  was  he  ignorant  that 
the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians  formed  part  of  these  sacred  wri- 
tings, when,  in  the  grief  which  he  felt  for  the  lapse  of  one 
who  had  been  a  brother  in  the  faith  and  fellow-preacher  of 
the  gospel,  he  added,  in  the  next  words,  *'  but  it  is  not  now 
given  unto  me,  as  it  is  said  in  these  scriptures,  Be  ye  angry 
and  sin  not,  and  let  not  the  sun  go  down  upon  your  wrath. "ff 

*  Cot.  Patr.  Aposlol.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  185.  Polycarpi  et  Ignatii  epist.,  p.  15, 
ed.  Usser. 

t  Mt?  aTro6i6ovTeg  KaKOv    avri  Mt?    airodtSovTec    kckov     avrc 

KaKOV,  7]  "koidopiav  avTi  "koidopta^.     kukov,  rj  ^.oiSoptav  avri  Tioidopiac, 

1  Peter  iii.,  9. 

t  Mj?  Kpivere  Iva  prj  KpiOijre.  Mt]    Kpivere    iva   firj    Kpidjjre. 

Matt,  vii.,  1  ;  Luke  vi.,  37. 

(}  Matt,  vi.,  14.    Luke  vi.,  37. 

II  Matt,  v.,  7. 

%  Ev  u  fiETpCf)  fierpT^Te  avTifie-  Ev  <1)  /leToo)  perpeire  avrifie- 
TpriBrjaETai  Vficv.  TpijdrjaeTai   v/xtv.     Malt,    vii.,    2. 

Luke  vi.,  39. 

**  MaKaptoi  ol  tttuxoi,  Kat  ol  MaKapioi  at  Trro^ot  (Luke  vi., 
diuKOfiEvoi  evsKEv  diKaioavvTig  otl  20),  ol  dEdnjyfXEvot  Svekev  SiKaio- 
avTuv  EGTLV  Tj  ^aoikELa  Tov  Qeov  avvTjc,  OTL  avTuv  EOTLv  i]  0aai?.Eia 
(Of  God).  ruv  ovpav(jv  (of  heaven).    Matt. 


tt  Epist.,  p.  22,  23.     Eph.  iv.,  26 


v.,  3,  10 


OP    THE   NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  203 

Did  he  doubt  the  genuineness  of  another  epistle,  or  did  he 
appeal  to  a  writing  unknown  to  the  Philippians,  when  ex- 
horting them  to  abstain  from  covetousness  and  from  all 
evil,  and  to  take  warning  from  the  case  which  he  bewailed, 
he  asked,  "  Who  of  you  are  ignorant  of  the  judgment  of 
Cod  1  Do  loe  not  know  that  the  saints  shall  judge  the  tvorld,  as 
Paul  teaches  1"  And  after  repeating  this  question  in  the 
words  of  the  apostle  (1  Cor.  vi.,  2),  and  thus  appealing  to 
his  authority,  he  states,  in  a  like  incidental  manner,  that  he 
had  seen  or  heard  nothing  such  among  them,  among  whom 
the  blessed  Paul  had  laboured,  who  spoke  of  them  in  the  be- 
ginning of  his  epistle,  and  who  gloried  of  them  in  all  the 
churches.  And  therefore  did  he  sorrow  greatly  for  Valens 
and  for  his  wife.  Thus,  as  if  unwittingly,  do  Polycarp  and 
the  other  apostolic  fathers  testify  of  scriptural  facts,  as 
truths  which,  instead  of  needing  any  affirmation  to  confirm 
or  argument  to  prove  them,  are  themselves  founded  on  as 
the  very  basis  of  exhortations  to  those  who  had  personally 
witnessed  or  experienced  their  reality. 

No  testimony  could  seemingly  be  stronger  or  more  direct 
than  that  the  original  writings  were  in  the  days  of  Tertullian 
to  be  seen  throughout  the  churches  ;  that  the  inspection  of 
them,  in  the  hands  of  the  church  to  which  each  was  commit- 
ted, was  the  proffered  proof  to  all  men  of  their  existence  and 
of  their  genuineness ;  and  that,  at  a  still  earlier  period,  they 
were  everywhere  openly  read  on  the  Sabbath  in  every 
Christian  congregation.  But  having  existing  documents  to 
show  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  were  unhesitatingly  quoted 
as  such  by  those  who  lived  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  even 
as  they  are  now  read,  word  for  word,  in  our  own ;  and  that 
express  epistles  were  at  that  early  age  referred  to  in  ad- 
dressing those  to  whom  these  very  epistles  were  written, 
may  we  not  demand  of  our  enemies  what  more  they  could 
ask,  or  what  clearer  or  closer  testimony  could  be  given  1 

It  was  only  as  solicited  by  the  Philippans  themselves,  as 
he  relates,  that  Polycarp  wrote  concerning  righteousness  to 
a  church  of  which  "  the  blessed  and  honoured  Paul,  with 
whom  he  nor  any  other  was  to  be  compared,  had  been  per- 
sonally the  instructer  in  the  word  of  truth ;  and  to  which, 
when  absent,  he  had  written  an  epistle  (or  epistles),  into 
which,  if  they  looked,  they  would  be  built  up  in  the  faith 
which  had  been  delivered  unto  them."  Ignatius,  in  like  man- 
ner, may  be  said  to  bring  a  whole  church  as  witnesses  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  whom  he  address- 
es as  the  companions,  in  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel,  of  Paul 
the  sanctified,  the  martyr  deservedly  most  happy,  "  who 
through  all  his  epistle  makes  mention  of  you  in  Christ  Je- 
sus.",*   In  commending  the  church  of  Ephesus,  Ignatius  thus 

*  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  78. 


204  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

plainly  alludes  to  the  epistle  of  Paul  to  themselvee,  "  in  which 
they  are  commended  and  never  reproved."  And  though  the 
Christians  at  Corinth  were  early  separated  into  divisions, 
they  may  be  said  to  be  brought  to  bear  witness  as  one  man, 
that  an  epistle  in  which  they  are  censured  was  written  to 
them  by  the  same  apostle.  Clement,  who  was  himself  a  la- 
bourer in  the  work  of  faith  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and 
who  yvas  afterward  bishop  of  Rome,  in  writing  to  the  Co- 
rinthians, claims  no  right  of  interpreting  the  word  of  God, 
but,  unlike  to  many  of  his  nominal  successors,  urges  them 
to  look  diligently  to  the  Scriptures,  which  are  the  true  oracles 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.*  And  condemning  their  unchristian  con- 
tentions, he  quotes  text  after  text  from  the  Old  Testament 
and  from  the  New,  and  thus  admonishes  them  :  "  Remember 
the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  said,  Wo  to  that  man  (by 
whom  offences  come) ;  it  were  better  for  him  that  a  millstone 
were  tied  about  his  neck,  and  that  he  should  be  drowned  in 
the  sea,  than  that  he  should  offend  one  of  my  little  ones. 
Take  into  your  hands  the  epistle  of  the  blessed  Paul  the 
apostle,  what  did  he  at  the  first  write  to  you  at  the  beginning 
of  the  gospel?  Verily  he  did  by  the  Spirit  admonish  you 
concerning  himself,  and  Cephas  (Peter)  and  Apollos,  be- 
cause that  even  then  there  were  factions  or  divisions  among 
you."t  The  same  date  is  assigned  to  the  unquestionably 
genuine  epistle  of  Clement — containing  this  direct  appeal  to 
Paul's  epistle  to  themselves  as  a  testimony  against  them — 
as  to  the  Book  of  Revelation. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  the  scriptures  were  appealed  to, 
we  have  thus  evident  illustrations.  And  if  farther  proof  be 
required  of  the  authority  more  than  human  which  was  at- 
tached to  them  from  the  beginning,  it  maybe  supphed  by  re- 
ferring to  the  practice  of  Ignatius  and  to  a  declaration  of  Po- 
lycarp.  The  former  holds  the  authority  of  the  gospel  as 
equivalent  to  that  of  Christ,  were  he  visibly  manifest  in  the 
flesh.  "Fleeing  to  the  gospel  as  to  the  flesh  of  Jesus,  and 
to  the  apostles  as  the  presbytery  of  the  church,  let  us  also 
love  the  prophets  because  that  they  also  spoke  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  hoped  in  him  (Christ),  and  expected  him."|  And 
Polycarp,  quoting  the  first  epistle  of  John,  affirms,  that  who- 
ever does  not  confess  that  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh,  is  an- 
tichrist ;  and  he  adds  that  whosoever  does  not  confess  the 
martyrdom  of  the  cross  is  of  the  devil,  and  whoever  perverts 
the  words  or  oracles  of  the  Lord  to  his  own  lusts  is  the  first- 
born of  Satan. § 

In  the  age  in  which  they  were  written,  or  in  that  which 
immediately  succeeded  it,  as  in  those  that  follow,  the  scrip- 

*  Clement,  epist.,  p.  53.  Oxon.  1653. 
t  Ibid  ,  p.  61.  Lardner,  vol.  ii.,  p.  36. 
i  Lardner,  ibid.,  p.  89.  ^  Epist., p.  20. 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  205 

tures  were  often  quoted,  and.  their  words  and  expressions,  as 
well  as  sentiments,  were  interwoven  with  every  topic  on 
which  Christians  wrote.  And  brief  as  are  their  writings,  Lard- 
ner  adduces  above  two  hundred  passages  from  the  works  of 
the  apostolic  fathers,  some  of  which  are  express  citations 
from  scripture,  others  are  unquestionably  quotations,  though 
not  stated  as  such,  and  others  form  verbal  coincidences  and 
i^lkisions,  which  denote  their  scriptural  origin. 

The  language  of  scripture,  now  universally  known  and  rec- 
ognised as  such  throughout  Protestant  Christendom,  was  at 
"first  as  new  and  unknown  in  all  Grecian  and  Roman  litera- 
ture, as  the  events  which  it  details  were  inconceivable  by 
heathen  mythologists,  till  the  gospel  of  Jesus  was  preached 
unto  the  world.  A  new  faith  in  the  heart  put  new  words  in 
the  mouth,  such  as  human  lips  had  not  previously  uttered. 
And  four  memoirs  of  Jesus  Christ,  a  single  narrative  of  the 
acts  of  those  whom  he  commissioned  to  preach  his  doctrine, 
and  a  few  epistles  written  by  some  of  them  .to  those  who 
believed  it,  supplied  materials  to  thousands  of  writers,  with- 
out any  intermission,  in  after  ages ;  for  any  semblance  of 
which  (the  Septuagint  excepted)  the  Alexandrian  library, 
with  its  thousands  of  volumes,  would  have  been  ransacked 
in  vain.  And  in  the  writings  of  the  primitive  fathers  we 
clearly  see  the  opening  and  first  working  of  an  inexhaustible 
mine  of  unsearchable  riches,  unlike  to  all  the  earthly  ores,  in 
which  no  Divine  treasure  can  be  found.  Scriptural  facts  are 
of  a  different  order  from  all  others  that  have  ever  been  trans- 
acted on  the  theatre  of  the  world.  And  Christian  writers 
partaking  of  a  new  name,  professed  a  new  reHgion,  and  com- 
municated with  each  other  concerning  things  with  which 
they  were  familiar,  but  which  had  never  entered  into  the 
heart  of  a  blinded  pagan  to  conceive.  No  longer  bent  on 
fulfiUing  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind,  believers 
in  Jesus  handled  the  pen  as  none  had  ever  handled  it  before 
but  the  prophets  of  Israel,  when  they  indited  the  things 
touching  the  Messiah ;  and,  compared  even  with  these,  they 
were  not  as  men  who  look  for  the  morning,  but  as  those  in 
whose  view  a  world  is  spread  forth  after  the  rising  of  the 
sun.  There  is  an  obvious  and  essential  dissimilarity  between 
the  writings  of  the  Christian  fathers  and  all  that  had  ever 
previously  been  written  by  uninspired  mortals.  New  prin- 
ciples were  founded  on  new  facts ;  and  the  belief  of  the  lat- 
ter and  consequent  adoption  of  the  former,  as  they  are  re- 
corded and  enjoined  in  the  Christian  scriptures,  introduced  a 
new  mode  of  ihinking,  feeling,  and  acting,  and,  consequently, 
of  writing.  In  those  days.  Christians  in  name  were  not 
heathens  either  in  word  or  in  deed.  And  the  extant  writings 
of  some  of  the  earliest  martyrs  abound  with  tokens  and  tes- 
timonials of  the  faith  which  was  first  delivered  to  the  saints 
S 


206  OF  THE    GENUINENESS 

and  recorded  in  the  scriptures.  A  rich  vein  of  scriptural 
language,  as  drawn  from  the  New  Testament,  runs  through 
all  they  wrote.  For  not  only  the  events  of  which  they  speak, 
and  the  motives  which  they  urge,  but  quotations  which  they 
avowedly  cite,  and  the  peculiar  scriptural  phraseology  which 
they  adopt,  show  that  they  were  as  familiar  with  the  Chris- 
tian oracles  as  they  were  faithful  to  their  Christian  princi- 
ples. ,  These  striking  and  characteristic  peculiarities,  con- 
tradistinguishing their  works  from  those  of  preceding  writers, 
plainly  point  to  the  pattern  from  which  they  drew,  and  show 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  whether  preached  or  written, 
was  from  the  beginning  one  and  the  same.  Genuine  coin, 
though  ultimately  passing  through  a  thousand  hands,  must 
first  come  from  the  mint,  where  the  image  was  impressed 
which  designates  its  origin  and  constitutes  its  genuineness  : 
and,  being  ever  after  recognised  at  a  glance,  the  question  is 
not  asked,  as  a  doubt  does  not  exist,  what  it  is,  or  from 
whence  it  came.  And  from  Christian  writings,  nearly  simul- 
taneous with  those  of  the  New  Testament,  we  may  see  that 
not  only  the  truths,  but  the  very  words  and  expressions  of 
scripture,  passed,  so  to  speak,  as  the  current  and  unquestion- 
ed coin,  newly  stamped  by  the  hands  of  the  apostles,  of  that 
kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world.  Wherever  a  spurious 
writing  appeared,  it  was  detected  as  counterfeit.  And  all 
such  were  as  uniformly  rejected  by  the  fathers,  as  the  New 
Testament  wnritings  were  appealed  to  as  genuine,  authentic, 
and  Divine.  The  base  metal  of  the  world  was  clearly  and 
carefully  discriminated  from  the  pure  gold  of  the  sanctuary. 
And  the  writings  of  the  evangelists  and  apostles,  as  a  treas- 
ury of  unsearchable  riches  ever  ready  for  use  and  at  hand 
to  all,  formed  from  the  beginning  the  common  property  and 
patrimony  of  the  Christian  churches,  which,  in  the  lifetime 
of  the  apostles,  were  spread  throughout  the  world. 

The  testimony  borne  to  the  genuineness  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament Scriptures  is  not  only  derived  from  the  acknowledg- 
ment of  those  (as  will  be  afterward  seen)  who  strove  to  ex- 
tirpate the  Christian  faith,  and  of  those  who  in  some  respects 
endeavoured  to  pervert  it,  and  from  the  uniform,  numerous, 
and  consecutive  appeals  of  many  Christian  writers  from  the 
days  of  the  apostles  down  to  the  period  when  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  became  the  religion  of  the  empire  ;  but  the  same  un- 
varying testimony  was  heard  from  every  quarter,  as  well  as 
maintained  in  every  age.  Witnesses  everywhere  arose 
whose  writings  confirm  tile  same  truth  to  all  succeeding  gen- 
erations. And  we  may  still  read  quotations  from  the  New 
Testament  in  the  numerous  writings  of  learned  Christians, 
who,  in  the  earliest  ages  of  the  church,  professed  the  same 
faith,  and  appealed  to  the  same  authority  in  the  different  re- 
gions of  the  world ;  throughout  Asia,  at  Jerusalem,  and  at 


OP    THE    NEW  TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  207 

Antiocli  in  Syria,  at  Smyrna,  Ephesus,  Sardis,  Pontus  in 
Asia  Minor,  and  at  Hierapolis  in  Phrygia ;  at  a  wide  distance 
on  the  coast  of  Africa,  in  the  cities  of  Alexandria  and  Car- 
thage ;  and  throughout  Europe,  in  Crete,  Greece,  Italy,  and 
France.  And  contemporary  writers,  in  cities  far  remote  from 
each  other,  drew  their  stores  of  theological  knowledge  as 
freely  and  copiously  from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  paid  as 
unreserved  submission  to  their  authority  as  modern  theolo- 
gians, who  hold  to  the  purity  and  simplicity  of  the  faith,  could 
now  do  in  London,  Berlin,  Geneva,  Amsterdam,  or  New- York, 
whether  inculcating  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  gospel 
from  the  pulpit,  or  committing  their  writings  to  the  press. 
Then,  as  now,  it  might  be  that,  even  in  a  volume,  no  express 
quotation  or  extract  from  one  or  two  short  epistles  should 
be  found.  But  the  scriptures,  as  unfolding  the  will  of  God 
and  the  system  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ,  were  read  in  the 
churches,  were  revered  by  believers,  and  furnished  the  theme 
of  every  sermon,  and  supplied  matter  for  every  treatise,  in 
unfolding,  confirming,  and  enforcing  the  faith  as  it  was  and 
still  is  in  Jesus,  the  same  unaltered  and  unalterable  word. 

If,  then,  we  look  to  "  the  cloud  of  witnesses"  gathered  to- 
gether from  every  quarter,  what  other  book,  may  we  not  ask, 
has  such  abundant  proof  of  its  genuineness  as  the  Christian 
scriptures  1  The  books  of  the  New  Testament  may  surely 
be  acknowledged  as  the  writings  of  their  reputed  authors, 
with  as  confident  an  assurance  as  is  unhesitatingly  given  to 
the  writings  of  Herodotus,  Xenophon,  and  Livy.  It  may  be 
confidently  affirmed,  that  all  extant  ancient  works,  which  were 
written  for  several  centuries  after  these  eminent  writers  lived, 
do  not  contain  so  full  and  numerous  quotations  from  their 
writings,  or  those  of  any  other  profane  author,  as  those  of 
the  New  Testament  in  the  existing  works  of  Clemens  Alex- 
andrinus,  TertuUian,  and  Origen  alone.  The  number  of  an- 
cient manuscripts  of  the  New  Testament  in  like  manner 
overbalanced  those  of  classic  authors.  "  Ahoni  fifteen  man- 
uscripts of  the  history  of  Herodotus  are  known  to  critics. 
This  amount  of  copies  may  be  taken  as  an  average  number 
of  ancient  manuscripts  of  the  classic  authors  ;  some  few  have 
many  more  ;  but  many  have  fewer.  To  mention  any  num- 
ber as  that  of  the  existing  ancient  manuscripts,  either  of  the 
Hebrew  or  Greek  scriptures,  would  be  impossible.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that,  on  the  revival  of  learning,  copies  of  the 
scriptures  were  found  wherever  any  books  had  been  pre- 
served. The  number  of  ancient  manuscripts  of  the  Greek 
New  Testament,  or  parts  of  it,  hitherto  examined  by  editors, 
is  nearly  J?fe  hundred.  If,  in  the  case  of  a  classic  author, 
twenty  manuscripts,  or  even  five,  are  deemed  amply  sufli- 
cient  (and  sometimes  one  is  relied  on),  it  is  evident  that  many 


208  OF    THE  GENUINENESS 

hundreds  are  guite  redundant  for  the  purposes  of  argument."* 
"The  wide  circulation  of  the  scriptures  secured  them  not 
merely  from  extinction,  but  from  corruption.  These  books 
were  never  included  within  the  sphere  of  any  one  centre  of 
power,  civil  or  ecclesiastical.  They  were  secreted,  and  they 
were  expanded  beyond  the  utmost  reachof  tyranny  or  fraud."! 
In  every  view  it  may  be  affirmed,  for  with  such  palpable  ev- 
idence no  farther  proof,is  needed  to  show,  that  the  history  of 
Christ  and  the  doctrines  which  are  recorded  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament have  come  down  from  the  apostolic  age  to  the  pres- 
ent hour  as  the  genuine  writings  of  the  evangelists  and  apos- 
tles ;  and  that  they  were  received  as  the  code  of  faith  and 
rule  of  life  by  all  who  named  the  name  of  Jesus. 

But,  in  the  first  centuries  of  our  era,  anti-Christian  as  well 
as  Christian  writers  commented,  though  in  an  opposite  spirit, 
on  the  New  Testament  Scriptures ;  and  their  direct  and  ex- 
plicit appeals  to  them,  as  the  undoubted  writings  held  sacred 
by  Christians  and  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  might 
here  close  the  demonstration  of  their  genuineness,  were  not 
the  statements  and  reasonings  of  these  adversaries  reserved 
for  showing  at  once  that  the  scriptures  are  genuine,  and  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ. 

May  it  not  now  be  asked  whether  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament  have  not  a  right  to  be  heard  as  the  witnesses  of 
Jesus  ^  And  is  it  for  those  who  believe  that  God  spake  by 
the  prophets,  and  that  his  word  must  needs  be  fulfilled,  to 
demur  to  their  testimony  in  proof  of  facts  which  may  pos- 
sibly be  nothing  els3  than  its  accomplishment  1  And  might 
not  the  comparison,  without  farther  preamble,  be  instituted 
between  what  prophets  foretold  and  apostles  wrote ;  and 
might  not,  then,  the  arbitrament  of  the  question  touching  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus  be  left  to  those  who  assuredly  spake 
by  inspiration  of  God  1  But,  skeptics  having  taken  to  them- 
selves the  name  of  rationalists,  it  may  be  meet  still  farther 
to  reason  together  before  identifying,  by  a  parallel  as  com- 
plete as  that  with  which  our  inquiry  began,  the  testimony  of  those 
who  saw  the  days  of  the  Messiah  afar  off,  and  that  of  those 
eyewitnesses  of  the  life  and  earwitnesses  of  the  words  of 
Jesus,  by  whose  lips  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  was  first 
preached,  and  from  whose  hands  it  is  clear  that  the  scrip- 
lures  came,  in  which  the  Christian  religion  is  unfolded  and 
proffered  to  the  world. 

It  is  manifest  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  as  well  as 
from  many  facts  previously  adduced,  that  the  Christian  tes- 
timony was  universally  borne  to  the  authenticity  of  scrip- 
ture as  well  as  to  its  genuineness,  or  that  the  events  re- 

*  Taylor's  History  of  the  Transmission  of  Arrcient  Books  to  Modem 
Times,  p.  200-202.  t  Ibid.,  204,  205. 


OF    THE    NEW  TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  209 

corded  in  the  New  Testament,  and  the  doctrines  A^hich  it 
hence  unfolds,  Avere  held  to  be  as  undoubted  as  that  it  was 
written  by  the  evangelists  and  disciples  of  Christ. 

The  Christian  testimony  has  been  very  fully  investigated 
by  the  scrupulous  and  laborious  Lardner,  and  illustrated  by 
the  acute  and  philosophic  Paley,  and  elucidated  and  adorned 
by  the  eloquence  of  Chalmers.  It  is  necessarily  a  common 
theme  with  Christian  writers  on  the  evidences  of  our  faith, 
and  has  been  evaded  by  many,  but  never  manfully  met  by 
any  of  the  adversaries  of  the  gospel.  It  has  been  the  wri- 
ter's object  to  set  it  in  that  which  he  deems  its  proper  place, 
and  to  show  at  a  glance,  however  imperfectly,  its  abundance 
and  value,  and  its  uninterrupted  continuity  to  the  days  of  the 
apostles. 

How  very  incomplete  such  a  summary  must  be,  the  reader 
may  judge  from  the  fact  that  eight  octavo  volumes,  contain- 
ing more  than  four  thousand  pages,  are  devoted  by  Dr.  Lard- 
ner to  the  illustration  of  "  the  credibility  of  the  gospel  his- 
tory, or  the  principal  facts  of  the  New  Testament  as  con- 
firmed by  passages  of  ancient  authors  who  were  contempo- 
rary with  our  Saviour,  or  his  apostles,  or  lived  near  their  time." 
Besides  others  of  minor  note,  forty  Christian  writers  flour- 
ished before  the  close  of  the  second  century,  a  like  number 
in  the  third,  and  a  greater  in  the  fourth.  Testimonies  are 
also  adduced  from  sixty  ancient  heathens.  And  Jews  and 
heretics  are  also  numbered  among  our  witnesses. 

But  not  only  is  the  Christian  testimony  traceable  without 
intermission  to  the  apostolic  age,  and  confirmed  by  a  cloud 
of  witnesses,  it  is  also  supported  by  proofs  peculiar  to  itself, 
and  common  to  no  historical  evidence  besides,  and  lays  claim 
to  a  higher  credibility  than  the  most  zealous  defender  of  the 
truth  of  any  other  events  recorded  in  the  whole  history  of 
man  could  venture  to  allege  in  their  verification.  For  it  was 
sealed  by  the  blood  of  martyrs,  as  well"  as  guarantied  by  the 
voice  of  prophets.  To  the  first  of  these  a  moment's  atten- 
tion may  be  here  claimed. 

No  historian  is  ever  called  on  to  depone  to  the  truth  of  the 
facts  which  he  records,  or  to  give  more  than  a  verbal  aflic- 
mation,  or,  when  attainable,  to  produce  documentary  evi- 
dence, itself  merely  a  written  word,  to  which  the  hand  of 
the  writer  is  the  only  witness.  Hitherto  we  have  looked 
only  in  this  hght  at  the  testimony  of  Christians.  But,  our 
enemies  being  judges,  the  testimony  of  Jesus — as  witness 
was  borne  concerning  him  and  his  gospel — instead  of  resting 
exclusively  on  any  Christian  records,  however  numerous  and 
clear,  was  maintained  even  to  the  death  by  multitudes  of 
both  sexes  and  of  all  ages  in  the  city  of  Rome,  and,  at  least, 
in  one  extensive  province  of  the  empire,  within  the  lifetime 
of  some  of  the  apostles,  and  in  the  immediately  succeeding 
S  2 


210  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

generations.  At  that  period,  as  well  as  both  previously  and 
subsequently,  martyrdom  was  no  uncommon  fate  of  the  be- 
lievers in  a  crucified  Saviour.  And  as  Christ  was  by  his  own 
death  a  witness  for  the  truth,  so  also  were  his  followers  by 
theirs.  In  testimony  of  their  faith'in  his  name,  they  suffered 
and  died  for  his  name's  sake.  The  name  of  Christian  un- 
abjured  was  the  legal  and  imperial  warrant  for  execution. 
The  question  put  to  them  by  a  Roman  governor  was  whether 
they  were  Christians.  Again  and  again  they  were  interro- 
gated in  the  same  terms,  and  were  threatened  witlv  death  at 
every  word.  The  edict  of  Trajun,  as  such  the  law  of  the 
empire,  bears,  that  if  they  were  accused  and  convicted  of 
being  Christians,  they  were  to  be  punished ;  if  any  who  were 
accused  denied  being  Christians,  and  gave  decisive  proof  of 
the  sincerity  of  their  denial  by  reproaching  the  name  of 
Christ  and  supplicating  heathen  gods,  they  were  pardoned  ; 
they  were  cleared  of  the  accusation  of  believing  in  Jesus  by 
doing  what  no  Christian  would  ever  do.  The  kings  and  ru- 
lers of  the  earth,  as  foretold,  took  counsel  together  against  the 
Lord  and  against  his  Anointed,  and  exerted  their  power  to  ex- 
tirpate his  faith.  But  had  they„taken  counsel  how  they  could 
confirm  and  consecrate  the  testimony  of  every  martyr  to  all 
succeeding  generations,  they  could  not  have  accomphshed 
that  purpose  so  perfectly  as  by  fixing  as  they  did  on  the  one 
essential  point  "  whether  each  one  was  a  Christian,"  and  by 
endowing  them  thus  with  the  power  of  sealing  their  testi- 
mony with  their  blood. 

It  would  be  hard,  we  think,  to  deny  that  the  love  of  liberty 
glowed  in  the  breast  of  the  courageous  Hampden,  or  that 
such  a  feeling  was  unknown  to  those  who  fought  and  fell 
with  the  devoted  Kosciusko.  And  is  it  generous  or  is  it  just, 
as  skeptics  have  often  done,  to  pass  by,  as  a  worthless  and 
disregarded  thing,  the  blood-bought  testimony  of  those  who 
freely  laid  down  their  lives  in  express  verification  of  their 
faith  in  Jesus  ?  Is  the  mind  of  man  so  blinded  by  the  god  of 
this  world,  and  his  heart  so  corrupted  by  the  love  of  it,  that 
the  death  in  mortal  combat  of  those  who,  contending  for  the 
death  of  their  enemies,  fell  in  the  pursuit  of  civil  liberty  (a 
precious  blessing,  but  often  only  an  abused  Jiame),  shall  be- 
come the  theme  of  high  eulogy,  and  their  names  be  adduced 
in  honour  of  an  age  ;  and  yet,  at  the  same  time,  shall  the  death 
of  Christian  martyrs,  with  whose  self-devotedness  no  pas- 
sionate or  selfish  feeling  intermingled,  become  in  contrast  a 
theme  for  reckless  ribaldry  ?  And  shall  all  the  power  of  their 
matchless  testimony  give  way  for  ever  in  the  minds  of  thou- 
sands to  a  mere  metaphysical  subtilty,  which  comes  out  on 
trial  a  demonstrated  and  palpable  feUacy,  and  which  itself, 
as  foretold,  is  a  direct  proof  of  the  inspiration  of  one  of  the 
martyred  witnesses   of  Jesus?     We  boast  of  enlightened 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  211 

times.  But  whither,  in  this  respect,  has  the  reason,  no  less 
than  the  better  feehngs,  of  man  fled,  that  testimony,  in  itself 
so  abundant,  and  vouched  for  centuries  in  a  manner  altogeth- 
er unparalled  in  history,  should  have  been  so  greatly  dispar- 
aged 1  If  any  demonstration  could  give  evidence  of  any  truth, 
It  surely  cannot  be  denied  that  those  believed  in  Jesus  who, 
when  asked  if  they  were  Christians,  resolved  the  question 
by  their  death  rather  than  deny  their  master.  And  this  fact 
once  admitted,  and  the  concessions  of  their  enemies  being 
borne  in  mind,  and  all  the  concomitant  circumstances  con- 
sidered, how  can  the  conclusion  be  rationally  resisted,  that 
their  faith  was  true  even  as  it  was  strong  ■? 

An  instance  may  be  adduced  to  show  in  what  manner 
Christians  testified  to  their  common  faith. 

The  epistle  of  Clement,  written  in  the  name  of  the  Church 
of  Rome  to  th9.t  of  Corinth,  may  be  said  to  transmit  to  all 
subsequent  ages  the  testimony  of  these  churches  to  the  faith 
of  the  gospel.  Epistles  in  the  New  Testament  were  ad- 
dressed to  both ;  and  they  had  alike  been  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity by  apostles.  Tacitus  has  shown  us  how,  in  that  very 
age,  the  faith  of  the  Christians  at  Rome  was  the  cause,  from 
the  odious  name  which  they  bore,  of  the  martyrdom  of  many. 
In  the  days  of  Trajan,  Ignatius,  journeying  as  a  pilgrim  to 
the  scene  of  his  martyrdom,  from  Syria  to  Rome,  wrote  epis- 
tles to  various  churches  (A.D.  107),  and  thus  incidentally 
called  forth  their  testimony,  or  confirmed  the  fact  that  their 
faith  in  Jesus  was  the  same  as  his  own,  as  deputations  from 
the  churches  met  him  on  the  way,  while  he  rejoicingly  went 
to  seal  his  testimony  with  his  blood.  An  epistolary  inter- 
change of  Christian  affection  subsisted  between  him  and  the 
renowned  Poly  carp.  And  in  the  epistle  of  the  Church  of 
Smyrna  concerning  the  martyrdom  of  Polycarp,  which  is  ad- 
dressed to  the  Church  of  Philadelphia,  and  all  the  churches 
in  every  place,  and  'to  which  Gibbon  refers  without  the  ex- 
pression of  a  doubt  of  its  authenticity,  we  learn  some  pre- 
cise and  striking  facts  illustrative  of  the  faith,  and  patience, 
and  faithfulness  unto  death  of  primitive  martyrs ;  and  we  read 
especially  how  that  man's  life  was  closed  who  had  been  the 
disciple  and  comfianion  of  the  apostle  that  followed  Jesus, 
till  he  stood  at  the  foot  of  his  cross  as  a  witness  of  his  death, 
and,  in  common  with  all  the  other  apostles,  was  the  witness 
also  of  his  resurrection  from  the  dead. 

Polycarp  laid  down  his  hfe  at  Smyrna,  in  the  midst  of  the 
flock  which  for  many  years  he  had  fed.  And  they  knew  his 
doctrine,  as  in  his  epistle  it  may  still  be  read,  to  which  he 
set  his  lifeblood  as  a  seal.  Many  of  them,  as  well  as  their 
pastor,  were  counted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter,  whose  mar- 
tyrdom preceded  his.  Imprisoned,  and  condemned  to  wild 
beasts,  to  the  cross,  or  to  the  stake,  because  of  their  Chris 


ei2  OF   THE    GENUINENESS 

tian  profession,  they  were  in  vain  importuned,  even  by  the 
proconsul,  to  regain  their  Uberty  and  to  redeem  their  lives 
by  a  word.  The  severest  tortures  were  inflicted  upon  them, 
and  their  bodies  were  laid  open  by  scourging,  and  placed  on 
sharp  instruments  and  the  points'of  spears,  to  try  if  their 
spirits  could  be  broken  and  their  faith  be  disowned.  Not 
one  groan  or  cry  could  be  extorted  from  many  a  victim,  in 
their  voluntary  sacrifice  of  mortal  life,  though  the  spectacles 
at  Smyrna,  in  the  time  of  the  games,  seems  in  the  variety  of 
torments  to  have  almost  vied  with  that  of  Rome:  When 
the  savage  crowd  of  dark  idolators  witnessed  the  dauntless 
magnanimity  and  indomitable  faith  of  such  Christian  heroes, 
who  triumphed  over  death,  amazed  at  their  fortitude,  but  en- 
raged at  their  steadfastness,  they  cried  out,  "  Take  away  the 
atheists ;  let  Polycarp  be  sought  for."*  The  pagans  in  their 
wrath  thus  unconsciously  called  for  a  higheiv  testimony,  and 
soon  witnessed  a  martyrdom,  as  the  epistle  terms  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  gospel.  Soldiers  went  out  into  the  country  as 
against  a  thief,  with  swords,  to  seize  the  venerable  bishop, 
who  delivered  himself  into  their  hands,  saying,  "  The  will  of 
the  Lord  be  done."  He  supplied  his  enemies  with  food,  and 
asked  them  for  nothing  but  an  hour  to  pray.  This  his  prep- 
aration finished,  he  went  forth  to  martyrdom.  A  magistrate 
met  him  by  the  way,  took  him  in  his  chariot,  and  sought  to 
cozen  him  by  kindness  to  call  Caesar  Lord,  and  to  offer  sacri- 
fice ;  but  failing  in  his  purpose,  dashed  him  to  the  ground. 
The  Christian  champion,  though  hurt  by  his  fall,  having  en- 
tered the  arena  in  the  midst  of  the  clamorous  crowd,  next 
withstood  the  remonstrance  and  entreaty  of  the  proconsul, 
who  as  vainly  importuned  him  to  have  respect  to  his  old 
age,  as  previously  he  had  urged  a  juvenile  martyr  to  have 
pity  on  his  youth,  who,  despite  of  his  entreaties,  fearlessly 
provoked  the  wild  beasts,  that  he  might  be  more  speedily 
their  prey.  When  asked  to  swear  by  Caesar,  and  to  join  in 
the  cry,  "  take  away  the  atheists,"  Polycarp  looked  round 
upon  all  the  idolatrous  crowd,  and  stretched  forth  his  hands 
towards  them,  groaning  in  spirit,  looked  up  to  heaven  and 
said,  "  Take  away  the  atheists  !"  Farther  besought  to  swear 
by  Caesar  and  be  free,  and  to  speak  evil  o^Christ,  he  repHed 
at  the  word,  "  Eighty  and  six  years  have  I  served  him  ;  never 
has  he  injured  me ;  and  how  can  I  blaspheme  my  King  and 
my  Saviour?"  "Swear  by  Caesar's  fortune."  "Why  do 
you  constrain  me  to  swear  by  Caesar  ?  do  you  know  who  I 
am]  Hear  me  openly  proclaim,  I  am  a  Christian.  And  if 
you  wish  to  learn  the  Christian  doctrine,  give  me  a  day,  and 

*  Aipc  Tovi  a^covs,  ^rircic^o)  IIo\vKapTroi.  Epist.,  p.  10  ;  Cotel.,  t.  ii.,p.  190. 
The  term  atheists,  applied  to  the  Christians,  as  denying  the  heathen  gods, 
shows  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  was  their  only  crime,  or  the  faith  for 
which  they  were  put  to  death. 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  213 

henr  me."     To  the  proconsul  he  appealed  to  judge  of  tha 
truth  of  the  tioctrine  which  he  maintained  ;  and  he  owned 
lii«  ubeuience  in  all  things  not  sinful  to  the  powers  that  were 
oixiainedof  God.     But  the  arguments  of  paganism  lay  in  the 
cage  of  the  lions ;  and  when  remonstrance  failed,  the'  reason, 
and  reply  of  the  proconsul  was,  "  I  have  wild  beasts,  and  to 
liiem  wiil  1  cast  you  if  your  mind  be  not  changed."     "  Call 
them,"  said  Polycarp ;  "  we  are  firmly  resolved  not  to  pass 
from  better  things  to  worse  :  but  for  me  the  transition  is 
blessed — from  severities  to  things  just" — the  just  recompense 
of  reward.     Again   the  proconsul  exclaimed,  "  If  you  fear 
not  the  wild  beasts,  the  fire  shall  consume  you."     '•  You 
thrcriten  me  with  the  flames  of  an  hour,"  was  the  answer; 
"  and  you  know  not  of  the  fire  that  shall  never  be  quenched. 
But  wherefore  this  delay,  bring  what   you  will  I"     Thrice 
was  it  pioclaimed  throughout  the  multitude  that  Polyc^p 
had  confessed  himself  a  Christian.     That  word  was  his  death- 
warrant.     Instantaneously  the  shout  arose,  "  This  is  the  vio- 
lator of  our  temples;  this  is  the  destroyer  of  our  gods,  who 
sail!  that  their  images  are  not  to  be  adored.     Send  out  a  lion 
on  Polycarp."     But  the  time  for  such  sports  was  then  pass- 
ed, and  the  deed  was  not  lawful.     And  all  with  one  voice 
cried  out  that  he  should  be  burned  alive.     Jews  and  pagans 
rushed  to  the  workshops  and  baths  for  fuel  and  fire ;  and  all 
things   in  a  moment  were  ready  for  the  sacrifice.     So  also 
was  the  victim.     And  when,  according  to  wont,  they  were 
about  to  fix  him  to  the  stake,  "  Leave  me  as  I  am,"  said  the 
magnanimous  martyr;  "  He  who  gives  me  power  to  endure 
the  fire  will  enable  me,  without  your  fastenings,  to  remain 
unmoved  in  the  midst  of  it."     Ready  and  willing  to  be  of- 
fered up,  he  raised  his  eyes  to  heaven  and  said,  as  neither 
atheist,  nor  pagan,  nor  skeptic  ever  spake,  "  O  Lord  God  Om- 
nipotent, Father  of  thy  beloved  and  blessed  Son,  Jesus  Christ, 
by  whom  we  have  obtained  the  knowledge  of  thee ;  God  of 
angels  and  of  archangels,  of  universal  nature,  and  of  all  the 
race  of  the  just  who  live  before  thee,  I  give  thee  thanks  that 
thou  hast  accounted  me  worthy  of  this  day  and  of  this  hour. 
For  this  and  for  all  things  I  bless  thee,  with  thy  eternal,  di- 
vine, and  beloved  Son,  unto  whom,  with  thee  and  the  Holy 
Spirit,  be  glory,  both  now  and  for  ever,  Amen."*     That  song 
was  begun  which  shall  never  cease,  and  that  testimony  was 
given  which  shall  never  die.     The  spirit  of  faith  would  not 
be  subdued ;  and  in  the  breast  of  the  martyr  the  love  of  Je- 
sus was  stronger  than  death.     The  proof  of  his  faith  was  its 
trial  by  fire,  and  the  truth  of  the  gospel  shone  brighter  in 
the  flame.     In  what  the  Spirit  said  to  the  angel  of  the  church 
of  Smyrna,  we  read,  "  Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will 

*  Epist.  de  Polycarpi  Martyrio,  p.  19-25. 


214  OF    THE    GENUINENESS 

give  thee  a  crown  rtf  life."*    And  thus  died  Polycarp,  the 
bishop  of  Smyrna. 

Many  martyrs  preceded  Polycarp,  as  many  followed  after 
him.  In  the  earliest  ages  of  the  church,  every  Christian  had 
to  come  forth  from  the  crowd  oPpagans  or  of  Jews,  who 
thirsted  for  their  blood,  because  of  the  change  of  their  faith. 
The  religion  of  Jesus  was  then  new  ;  the  facts  on  which  it 
was  founded  were  then  recent;  the  lives  of  the  witnesses 
were  in  jeopardy  every  hour,  and  were  not  held  dear  for 
their  King  and  their  Saviour;  the  natural  love  of  life  and 
the  natural  power  of  sin  were  alike  overcome  by  the  strength 
of  their  faith ;  if  in  this  life  only  they  had  had  hope  in  Je- 
sus, they  were  of  all  men  most  miserable;  and  they  must, 
as  then  they  might,  have  been  assured  by  infallible  proofs  of 
the  certainty  of  the  things  in  which  they  believed.  And 
i\)§j^  testimony  was  not  to  be  trodden  down  by  the  wild 
beasts  which  devoured  them,  nor  to  be  extinguished  with  the 
fire  in  which  their  bodies  were  consumed.  In  the  lifetime 
of  some  of  the  apostles,  a  public  spectacle  in  the  capital  of 
the  world  openly  showed,  in  all  the  diversity  of  cruelties 
which  Satanic  ingenuity  could  devise,  by  the  death  of  many 
believers  in  Jesus,  how  ^j-rea^  things  they  suffered  for  his  name's 
sake,  and  how  they  were  offered  up  in  the  service  and  sacrifice 
of  their  faith.  And  if  we  look  to  Bithynia  or  Smyrna,  we 
see  how^,  in  the  immediately  subsequent  generation,  the  way 
to  martyrdom  was  filled  with  those  who  bore  the  testimony 
of  Jesus.  "  Freedom  shrieks,"  it  has  been  said,  when  her 
votaries  fall ;  but  faith  shouted  when  her  martyrs  died.  The 
stake  to  which  Christians  were  bound,  the  fiery  pile  with 
which  they  were  surrounded,  the  red-hot  iron  chair  in  which 
they  sat,  the  boiling  oil  into  which  they  were  plunged,  the 
wild  beasts  to  w^hich  they  were  cast,  the  cross  to  which,  like 
their  Master,  they  were  nailed,  the  sword  of  the  gladiator,  or 
the  axe  of  the  executioner  under  which  they  fell,  the  com- 
bustible materials  in  which  they  were  wrapped,  and  enkin- 
dled, and  burned  to  death,  and  all  the  variety  of  torments  to 
which  they  were  subjected,  were  the  modes  by  which  pa- 
gans, in  their  blind  and  furious  zeal  to  extirpate  and  extin- 
guish Christianity,  enhanced  their  testimony  to  a  faith  found- 
ed on  cognizable  facts.  Their  fingers  moved  not  over  parch- 
ment like  those  of  witnesses  to  other  truths  ;  nor  were  their 
hands  uplifted,  as  in  a  court  of  law,  to  give  the  last  solemn 
confirmation  which  man  can  innocently  require  of  man  ;  but 
after  having  been  themselves  living  epistles  by  the  holiness 
of  their  lives,  they  laid  open  their  inmost  veins  to  the  scourge, 
they  kissed  the  cross,  or  embraced  the  pile,  and  with  their 
burning  and  bleeding  bodies,  when  dissolved,  their  testimony 
was  written  in  "  long  streams  upon  the  ground." 

*  Rev.  ii.,  10. 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  215 

The  reader  may  have  thought  that  the  Christian  testimony 
was  spoken  of  with  disparagement  in  the  preceding  pages, 
as  if  of  itself  it  were  untenable  or  weak.  But  none  who 
knows  in  the  least  what  it  is,  and  how  wholly  free,  when 
rigidly  tried,  of  any  such  imputation,  can  think  for  a  moment 
that  it  is  to  be  given  up,  or  that  any  portion  of  it  can  ever  be 
justly  abandoned,  for  all  the  cavils  of  captious  skeptics,  who 
mock  the  evidence  they  dare  not  meet.  Viewed  singly  and 
disjoined  from  prophecy,  it  may  not  have  been  always  seen 
in  its  true  position,  nor  valued  according  to  its  proper  strength. 
But  well  may  it  seem  sufficient,  though  standing  alone,  to 
convince  or  to  condemn  gainsayers.  It  has  a  positive  pow- 
er, which  is  increased  and  not  diminished  by  the  relation 
which  it  bears  to  other  portions  of  the  Christian  evidence. 
Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  as  it  is  said  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, is  the  death  of  his  saints ;  and  more  precious  than 
their  life's  blood,  as  they  themselves  did  prize  it,  is  the  tes- 
timony of  the  martyrs  of  .Tesus,  the  rich  legacy  bequeathed 
by  their  death  to  the  church  in  every  age.  it  is  not,  indeed, 
to  be  regarded  as  the  sole  evidence  of  the  Christian  revela- 
tion ;  nor  is  any  other  to  be  regarded  solely,  exclusive  of  it. 
But  the  voice  of  prophets  conjoined  with  that  of  martyrs, 
each  being  re-echoed  by  the  enemies  of  our  faith,  form  the 
harmony  and  the  power  of  the  Christian  evidence ;  and  uni- 
tedly charm  so  wisely,  that  they  might  well  disenchant  the 
doubting  mind  of  the  demon  of  unbelief.  And  instead  of 
there  being  any  weakness  or  discordance  on  the  one  side  or 
on  the  other,  now  that  the  testimony  borne  by  heathens  and 
believers  to  Jesus  and  to  his  cause  is,  though  but  in  part, 
before  us,  and  that  some  estimate  of  its  value  should  here 
be  made,  we  feel  utterly  incompetent  to  the  task ;  and  were 
our  limited  space  enlarged  a  hundred  fold,  we  would  despair 
of  being  able  to  convey  any  adequate  conception  of  its  ful- 
ness and  its  force. 

In  vain  would  we  ask  of  any  other  book  or  of  any  other 
history  so  full  and  continuous  a  testimony  on  its  behalf. 
And  in  vain  would  we  look  for  any  other  events  in  the  whole 
history  of  man,  accredited  to  the  world  by  the  martyrdom  of 
thousands  as  a  testimonial  of  their  truth.  And  nowhere 
could  we  see  such  a  combination  of  principalities  and  pow- 
ers, the  intellect  of  the  wise,  the  interests  of  the  worldly, 
the  efforts  of  the  mighty,  and  the  passions  of  the  mean,  the 
imperial  mandate,  and  the  popular  phrensy,  all  directed  at 
once  and  for  a  long  continuance  against  any  cause  as  against 
the  Christian  religion,  from  the  period  of  its  first  promulga- 
tion in  the  world.  Men  without  a  weapon  but  a  word,  and 
without  a  crime  but  a  name,  withstood  the  world  in  enmity 
and  at  war  against  them.  The  religion  of  the  empire  fell 
before  the  fishermen  of  Galilee.    Earthly  conquerors  might. 


216  OP    THK    GENUINENESS 

like  the  Muhammedans,  impose  on  the  vanquished  an  earthly 
and  a  seiifua  c.*»ed,  to  which  the  carnal  mind  would  yield 
an  easy  credence.  But  in  the  propagation  of  Christianity, 
the  weak  things  of  the  world  set  at  naught  the  things  that 
vfere  mighty  ;  the  death  of  its  defenders  gave  new  life  to 
their  cause;  the  vanquished  conquered;  and  even  in  death 
itself  they  were  victorious.  And  if  ever  on  earth  there  was 
a  time  when  an  illustration  was  given,  that  truth  is  great  and 
will  prevail,  it  was  when  the  gospel,  in  its  purity  and  prime, 
triumphed  in  defiance  of  persecution  ;  and  when  the  witnesses 
of  Jesus,  who  knew  in  whom  they  believed,  were  faithful  un- 
to death,  and  all  the  gates  of  hell  could  not  prevail  against 
the  word  of  their  testimony.  And  how  else,  but  from  infal- 
lible proofs  and  demonstration  of  power  and  of  the  Spirit, 
could  they  have  been  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  a  new  reli- 
gion, for  which  they  abandoned  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  all  things,  became  a  spectacle  to  the  world, 
took  up  their  cross  and  followed  their  crucified  Master, 
adorned  his  holy  doctrine,  crucified  the  flesh,  overcame  the 
world,  and,  rather  than  breathe  a  syllable  against  Jesus,  vol- 
untarily braved  death,  however  terrible  its  form  1 

If  it  be  alleged  that  multitudes  of  both  sexes,  of  all  ranks, 
and  of  every  age,  exposed  themselves  to  reproach,  misery, 
and  death,  by  irrationally  and  causelessly  embracing  a  faith 
which  commanded  them  to  try  all  things,  and  to  be  always 
ready  to  give  a  reason  of  their  hope ;  that  self-preservation, 
he  first  law  of  our  nature,  was  changed,  without  any  rational 
persuasion,  or  just  and  adequate  cause,  into  a  widespread 
and  prevailing  principle  of  self-destruction,  and  ease  and  lib- 
erty were  forfeited,  torture  courted,  and  death  defied,  with- 
out a  valid  reason,  rather  than  cast  a  few  grains  on  an  altar, 
or  utter  a  few  words  which  implied  a  denial  of  events  then 
recently  and  openly  transacted;  that  impostors  were  com- 
bined, to  their  manifest  misery,  for  the  promotion  of  righte- 
ousness ;  and  that  Christians  were  inured  to  habits  of  temper- 
ance, chastity,  integrity,  and  every  virtue,  from  the  behef  of 
a  lie,  then  it  must  be  admitted  that  every  law  of  the  human 
mind  was  suspended  and  subverted;  that'  hell  must  have 
changed  its  character  and  man  his  nature ;  and  that  a  mira- 
cle would  not  be  here  sought  for  in  vain.  But  the  whole 
history  of  man,  and  the  instinctive  feelings  in  every  human 
breast,  protest  against  the  belief  of  a  moral  phenomenon  so 
monstrous,  and  so  invariably  contrary  to  universal  experi- 
ence. 

Though  the  case,  even  in  this  single  view,  stands  thus,  yet 
the  whole  Christian  testimony  is  disregarded  and  discredited 
by  Humists  solely  because  of  the  nature  of  the  facts  which 
it  is  borne  to  substantiate.  But  it  is  in  this  very  thing,  or 
because  of  the  very  truths  which  constitute  the  ChristiMi 


OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  217 

Paith,  that,  as  remains  to  be  seen,  the  great  strength  of  the 
testimony  lies.  For  the  truths  to  which  witness  unto  death 
was  borne  are  those  only  which  prophets  had  foretold ;  and 
the  history  of  the  martyrs  of  Jesus,  at  that  express  and  de- 
fined period,  is  summarily  comprehended  in  their  word.  It 
is  true,  in  fact,  as  it  was  written  in  prophecy,  that  after  the 
Messiah  ivas  ait  off.  the  city  and  sanctuary  of  Jerusalem  were 
destroyed,  the  daily  sacrifice  which  was  ofl'ered  there  was 
taken  away,  and  the  abomination  that  maketh  desolate  was 
set  up.  But  the  people  that  knew  their  God  were  strong, 
and  did  exploits;  and  they  that  understood  among  the  people 
instructed  many ;  yet  they  fell  by  the  sword,  and  by  flame, 
and  by  captivity,  and  by  spoil  many  days.  "  The  blood  of 
the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  church  ;"  and  the  sure  word 
of  prophecy  was  fulfilled  concerning  those  who  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death,  in  testifying  those  things  which 
the  prophets  aforetime  had  testified  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

APPROPRIATION  OF  THE  ARGUMENTS  OF  CELSUS,  PORPHYRY,  AND 
JULIAN,  IN  PROOF  OF  THE  GENUINENESS  OF  THE  NEW  TESTA- 
MENT,   AND    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS. 

SECTION  I. 

The  religion  of  .lesus,  which  braved  the  edicts  of  empe- 
rors, and  which  no  iron  yoke  could  crush,  was  not  destined 
to  fall  before  the  pen  of  sophists.  It  prospered  and  pre- 
vailed against  every  mode  of  trial,  and  every  form  of  oppo- 
sition that  could  be  devised  or  put  in  action  against  it.  And 
history  is  clear  that  it  never  sunk  till  first  it  was  corrupted. 
Christians  were  slaughtered,  but  Christianity  increased.  It 
frustrated  the  counsels  of  princes,  and  set  at  naught  their 
power ;  it  braved  the  rage  of  wild  beasts,  and  the  fury  of 
barbarous  men  ;  and  it  passed  unhurt  through  the  fierceness 
of  fire.  It  was  not  for  death  to  daunt  the  spirits  of  those 
who  believed  in  Him  by  whom  death  itself  had  been  van- 
quished :  and  when  terror  failed  to  extirpate  faith,  philoso- 
phy, falsely  so  called,  took  up  the  task  which  principnlities 
and  powers  had  tried  in  vain  to  accomplish.  But  it  behooved 
not  those  who  professed  to  be  guided  by  that  light  which 
alone  can  enlighten  the  nations,  and  whose  commanded  duty 
it  was,  by  an  authority  which  they  held  to  be  Divine,  to  be 
ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to  every  man  that  asked 
T 


218  APPROPRIATION    0*'   THE 

them  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  was  in  them,  to  shrink  from 
the  arguments  of  gainsayers.  The  weapons  that  are  not 
carnal  are  those  alone  whicii  the  Christian  can  take  up.  But 
with  these,  when  needful,  he  may  contend  earnestly  for  the 
faith.  Tlie  vantage  ground  of  i<  ason  is  the  proper  field  of 
Truth  ;  and  that  "  the  children  of  the  light"  must  ever  claim 
as  their  own,  where  no  foe,  with  i;iipunity,  can  stand  up 
against  them.  And  in  proof  that  the  God  of  Truth  is  on 
their  side,  it  is  their  prerogative,  we  maintain,  to  keep  that 
field  which  they  claim,  and  their  privilege  to  hold  forth  the 
surrendered  weapons  of  their  enemies,  as  the  tokens  of  their 
triumph. 

The  adversaries  of  the  gospel,  jn  these  latter  times,  while 
indulging  in  theories  of  a  seemingly  opposite  tendency,  have 
practically  taught  us  that,  judging  from  experience,  nothing  is 
more  credible,  however  strange  at  first  it  may  seem,  than 
that  the  biuorest  enemies  of  our  faith  should  unconsciously, 
even  without  resigning  their  arms  for  our  use,  prove  its 
ablest  defenders.  Of  yore,  as  of  late,  they  have  done  all 
the  work  ;  and  they  have  left  nothing  for  the  Christian  to  do 
but  to  repeat  their  words  and  to  tell  of  their  doings.  Do  we 
want  a  witness  above  all  others  to  testify  of  the  facts  which, 
in  modern  times,  form  the  express  accomplishment  of  an- 
cient prophecies  ?  there  is  not  another,  as  the  man  of  our 
choice,  who  can  stand  up  beside  Volney,  and  claim  the  suf- 
frages of  all  believers.  Do  we  seek,  according  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, for  the  great  argument  of  scoffers  in  the  last  days  i 
ihe  scoffing  Hume,  applauded  and  followed  by  a  host  of  kin- 
dred spirits,  proclaims  himself  its  author.  Do  we  stand  in 
need  of  an  interpreter,  by  facts  and  not  by  fancies,  of  the 
more  symbolical  predictions  which  have  long  baffled  the 
skill  of  Christian  writers,  and  which  involve  the  decline  and 
fall  of  the  Roman  empire,  and,  in  connexion  with  it,  the  fate 
of  the  church  and  the  history  of  the  world,  who  can  be  com- 
pared to  Gibbon,  whose  name  is  associated  with  the  theme  1 
Seek  we,  in  looking  to  times  long  past,  to  know  of  the  ori- 
gin and  rise  of  our  faith,  and  to  find  some  record  concerning 
it  so  ancient  as  closely  to  follow  up,  in  time,  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  ?  Tacitus,  the  Roman  historian,  speaking  of  a  new 
religion,  which  he  called  a  detestable  superstition,  is  ready 
with  his  vouchers.  And  do  we  inquire  more  closely,  wheth* 
er,  in  fulfilment  of  ancient  prophecy,  kings  and  rulers  took 
counsel  against  the  Lord  and  his  Anointed  ?  Pliny  and 
Trajan,  the  governor  of  Bithynia  and  the  emperor  of  Rome, 
present  their  letters,  and  show  us  the  counsel  that  was  asked 
and  given.  Are  we  more  inquisitive  still,  and  do  we  wish  to 
be  informed  whether  the  disciples  of  Jesns,  as  it  is  recorded 
that  he  foretold,  were  hated  of  all  men  for  his  name's  sake  1 
another  emperor  also  bears  witness  to  the  importunate  de- 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  219 

mands  and  loud  clamours  that  were  raised  and  urged  against 
them  ;  and,  as  if  he  had  sat  upon  his  throne  on'purpose  to 
verify  the  words  of  Jesus,  that  Christians  would  be  brought 
before  governors  and  kings  for  his  name's  sake,  he  issued  a 
rescript,  in  which  we  read  that  they  were  not  to  be  charged 
but  in  a  legal  manner  in  court,  where  they  might  answer  for 
themselves,  and  that  the  governor  should  take  cognizance  of 
any  accusations  against  them.  Or  if,  distrusting  the  efficacy 
of  the  faith  in  Jesus  to  purify  the  heart,  while  we  look  at 
nominal  Christendom  as  it  is,  unpurged  from  iniquity,  we 
seek  to  know  if  ever  there  was  a  time  when  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel  was  adorned  by  those  who  professed  it,  and 
whether  the  life  of  the  Christian  was  then  in  happy  har- 
mony with  the  death  of  the  martyr,  the  enemies  of  our  faith 
take'up  the  testimony  in  their  behalf,  and  show  us  that  their 
lives  were  practical  illustrations  of  the  precepts  of  Jesus. 

With  the  proofs  of  such  infatuation  on  the  part  of  our  en 
emies,  in  ancient  as  in  modern  times,  multiplying  before  us 
and  thus  instructed, 

Fas  est  et  ab  hoste  doceri, 

would  we  not  be  forsaking  experience  as  our  guide  if — in 
seeking  some  evidence  that  the  New  Testament  Scriptures 
were  written  in  the  age  and  by  the  persons  they  profess  to 
be,  even  by  the  evangelists  and  apostles  of  Jesus,  and  also 
that  the  facts  of  his  life  and  the  nature  of  his  religion  were 
the  tokens  and  testimonials  of  his  Messiahship — we  were 
not  to  inquire  whether  our  enemies  be  not  here  also  ready 
with  their  aid  1  In  the  providence  of  God,  we  may  be  per- 
mitted to  say,  for  such  things  come  not  by  chance,  it  is  even 
so.  And  they  who  first  vented  their  malice  against  the  gos- 
pel by  their  writings,  as  others  did  by  actions,  are  now,  in 
their  proper  order,  our  witnesses,  and  lead  us  on  to  the 
direct  demonstration  that  the  gospel  is  alike  authentic  and 
Divine. 

The  faith  of  Christians  stands  not  in  the  wisdom  of  man, 
but  in  the  power  of  God.  From  first  to  last  the  wisdom  of 
man  has  often  been  in  active  exercise  against  it.  The  talerit 
of  some  of  our  adversaries  is  not  to  be  denied,  however 
much  the  mode  of  its  exercise  may  be  deplored.  And,  with- 
out impeaching  their  title  to  philosophy,  we  may  wish  that 
they  were  truly  wise.  Things  Divine,  as  is  written,  may  be 
hid  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  yet^  be  revealed  unto 
babes.  But  it  is  also  said  that  God  frustrateth  the  tokens  of 
liars,  and  turneth  wise  men  backward.  And  however  great 
may  be  the  talent  of  those  whose  wisdom  is  leagued  with 
error  and  directed  against  truth,  they  only  make  the  triumph 
of  the  cause  which  they  oppose  ultimately  the  more  con- 
spicuous and  complete.    And  not  in  a  solitary  instance  only, 


220  APPROPRIATION    OF   THE 

but  by  repealed  and  increasing  examples,  their  talents,  in 
despite  of  them,  are  turned  to  the  proof  of  the  word  of  the 
Lord.  And  the  greater  the  primary  display  of  their  ingenu- 
ity, so  much  the  more  do  they  labour  for  the  final  confirma- 
tion of  the  Christian  faith.  And  as-Volney,  by  drawing  with 
much  labour  a  picture  of  Palestine,  as  if  he  had  stood  alter- 
nately on  Pisgah  and  Tabor,  was  thereby  the  better  witness 
of  the  faithfuhiessiof  the  picture  drawn  by  the  prophets,  and 
manifested  thus  the  extreme  precision  of  the  prophetic  word, 
so  the  earliest  writers  among  the  enemies  of  our  faith,  Cel- 
sus.  Porphyry,  and  Julian,  the  talented  infidel  penmen  of  their 
times,  afibrd  a  new  series  of  illustrations  of  the  same  truth  : 
and  by  taxing  all  their  art,  in  their  own  time  and  way,  to 
disparage  the  scriptures  by  multiplying  objections,  they  mul- 
tiplied proofs.  Seeking  to  sustain  a  system  of  error,  and 
deriding  as  foolishness  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  they  were 
able,  by  an  ingenuity  devoid  of  ingenuousness,  to  show,  in  a 
great  variety  of  instances,  how  the  writings  of  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  appeared  unto  them  foolishness  :  and  thus,  as  every 
reader  may  judge,  committed  by  their  own  words,  and  taken 
in  their  own  craftiness,  they  adopted  the  most  effectual 
means,  above  all  others  in  their  power,  of  imparting  the 
most  abundant  and  decisive  proof  <»f  the  antiquity  and  of  the 
genuineness,  as  such,  of  those  very  scriptures  which  they 
vilified  ;  and,  while  entering  for  infidelity,  they  have  laid  up  a 
treasure  of  imperishable  testimony  to  the  genuineness  of  the 
scriptures,  which  was  not  controverted  in  their  time  ;  and 
now,  when  the  inspiration  of  the  prophets  may  be  witnessed 
by  every  man  who  has  eyes  to  see  and  ears  to  hear,  be  he 
Jew  or  Gentile,  that  fact  transforms  their  objections  into 
proofs  as  clear  and  conclusive  as  those  of  Volney.  And 
palpable  illustrations  are  thus  given,  from  which  ail  may  see 
how  the  simplicity  of  truth  triumphs  over  all  the  plausibility 
of  falsehood. 

The  renowned  champions  of  paganism  strove  to  overthrow 
Christianity  by  reason  and  ridicule ;  and  failed  not  to  achieve 
all  that  argument  could  accomplish.  Their  talents  and  la- 
bours subverted  the  faith  of  some,  served  to  sanction  the  in- 
credulity of  more,  and  called  forth,  on  the  part  of  Christians, 
many  vindications  of  the  gospel  from  their  violent  assaults. 
Deists  have  joined  with  pagans  in  deeming  their  arguments 
unanswerable.  And  Gibbon  states  that  "'  even  the  work  of 
Cyril  (against  JuUan)  has  not  entirely  satisfied  the  most  fa- 
vourable judges  ;  and  the  Abbe  de  la  Bleterie  {Preface  a 
VHist.  de  Jovian)  wishes  that  some  Iheologien  philosophe  (a 
strange  centaur)  would  undertake  the  refutation  of  Julian,"* 
by  whose  superior  merit,  in  the  estimation  of  his  eulogists, 

*  Gibbon's  Hist.,  vol.  iv„  p.  81. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  221 

the  celebrated  name  of  Porphyry  was  effaced.  Some  of  the 
arguments  of  Porphyry  have  been  renewed  in  modern  times. 
And  it  may  be  admitted  that  "  the  objection,  as  stated  by 
Origen  from  Celsus,  is  sometimes  stronger  than  his  own  an- 
swers."* 

The  genuineness  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  as  has  been 
often  shown,  is#manifest]y  established  by  the  fact  that  they 
were  quoted  as  such  in  the  earliest  ages,  by  heathens  as 
well  as  by  believers.  And  a  few  examples  will  show  how 
incidentally  this  evidence  is  supplied.  But  while  the  record 
itself  was  held  to  be  unquestionably  genuine,  many  cavils 
were  subtlely  urged  against  the  religion  of  Jesus  as  a  rev- 
elation from  Heaven,  because  its  doctrines  did  not  accord 
with  the  prejudices  or  fancies  of  men.  And  theories  con- 
cerning matters  of  religious  belief  may  be  numbered  among 
the  many  inventions  which  men  sought  out  for  themselves. 
But  the  question  is  no  longer  left  to  the  arbitrament  of  vain 
imaginations,  when  the  inspiration  of  those  prophets  is  per- 
ceived and  admitted  who  foretold  the  coming  of  the  Mes- 
siah. And  as  the  nations  that  strove  against  the  Lord  ivere 
hewn  hy  his  sei-vants  the  prophets  and  fell  before  their  word,  a 
like  fate  by  the  same  means  awaits  those  who,  from  first  to 
last,  have  unconsciously  argued  from  predicted  facts  against 
the  Christian  religion  !  And  now  that  the  inspiration  of  the 
prophets  has  its  proof  in  hundreds  of  existing  facts,  to  a  de- 
gree that  no  ancient  pagan  could  have  credited,  the  best  an- 
swer to  the  objections  of  skeptics  against  the  tenets  or  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel  is  to  appropriate  them  as  proofs  that  the 
word  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophets  has  been  fulfilled.  And 
though  these  arguments  of  our  adversaries  were  seemingly 
as  strong  as  once  was  the  wall  of  Babylon,  which  for  a  sea- 
son held  captive  the  people  of  the  Lord,  yet,  like  it,  they  too 
may  thus  be  swept  with  the  besom  of  destruction,  till  nothing  be 
left  but  confirmations  of  his  word. 

In  repeated  instances,  the  same  objections,  couched  some- 
times in  the  most  revolting  terms,  so  as  to  forbid  their  un- 
necessary repetition,  were  urged  repeatedly  by  the  earliest 
opponents  of  Christianity  as  by  some  of  their  late  imitators. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  holy  doctrine  should  be 
hated  by  the  children  of  men.  And  as  the  same  spirit  of  per- 
secution manifested  itself,  in  various  pbices  and  in  different 
ages,  against  those  who  bare  witness  to  the  faith,  and  the 
same  kind  of  engines  of  torture  were  used  in  places  far  sep- 
arated, so  the  invention  of  men,  exercised  in  another  man- 
ner, has  been  manifested  in  the  adoption  of  the  selfsame  in- 
vectives against  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  from  age  to  age. 
All  that  we  here  ask  them  is.,  that  they  would  not  begrudge 

*  Paley's  Evidences. 
Ts 


222  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

US  the  use  of  their  own  arguments,  and  that  they  themselves 
would  look  to  their  refutcition  as  well  as  to  their  use.  Many 
of  them  can  happily  be  traced  to  their  original  source ;  and 
they  were  plentifully  supplied  in  Uie  second,  the  third,  and 
the' fourth  centuries  of  our  era. 

Congenial  spirits  have  congenial  thoughts,  whatever  may 
be  the  diversity  of  time  and  place.  Porphyrjj  may  be  classed 
with  Gibbon,  and  Celsus  with  Paine.  With  a  boldness  that 
v^ras  great  but  not  inimitable,  Celsus  entitled  his  work  "  The 
Word  of  Truth,"  and  it  bears  a  strong  affinity  to  "The  Age 
of  Reason."  And  both  the  ancient  and  the  modern  calum- 
niator of  the  word  of  God  chose  alike  to  confute  the  Chris- 
tians out  of  their  own  writings ;  the  latter  not  sufficiently 
reflecting  that,  in  adopting  that  method  of  "  extinguishing 
Christianity,"  as  he  threatened,  the  same  task  had  been  ex- 
ecuted with  equal  talent  at  an  earlier  period  of  the  second 
century  than  that  in  which  his  was  undertaken  in  the  eigh- 
teenth; and,  consequently,  if  the  argument  was  valid,  that 
Christianity  must  have  been  extinguished  many  centuries  be- 
fore. His  arguments  had  not  the  novelty  of  Hume's  one, 
which  is  a  saying  peculiar  to  "  the  latter  days."  And  to  the 
modern  Epicureans  who  mock  at  the  truth,  whose  god  is 
their  belly  and  whose  glory  is  their  shame,  nothing  was  left 
but  that,  labouring  in  their  vocation  by  gleaning  up  the  filth 
of  former  generations,  they  might  the  better  illustrate  their 
own  scriptural  character  in  their  own  time,  and  boasting  of 
liberty  xohile  they  therrkselves  are  the  children  of  corruption,  foam 
out  their  own  shame.  To  know  the  true  value  of  all  such  ar- 
guments against  the  scriptures,  they  have  only  to  be  drawn 
in  large  numbers  from  the  first  opponents  of  our  faith,  against 
whom  we  may  thus  easily  and  truly  turn  their  threat  against 
Christians  of  confuting,  and  even  more  than  confuting,  them 
out  of  their  own  writings. 

It  is  related  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  that  when  Paul,  at 
Athens,  saw  the  city  wholly  given  up  to  idolatry,  and  there- 
fore disputed  in  the  synagogue  with  the  Jews,  and  in  the 
market-place  daily  with  them  that  met  him,  then  certain  phi- 
losophers of  the  Epicureans  and  of  the  Stoics  encountered 
him.  And  some  said.  What  will  this  babbler  say  ?  other  some, 
He  seemeth  to  be  a  setter-forth  of  strange  gods  :  because  he 
preached  unto  them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  Acts  xvii., 
17,  18.  At  that  time,  when  they  first  heard  a  Jew  unfolding 
the  faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  the  philosophers  of  that  city,  which 
was  so  renowned  over  the  world  for  its  wisdom,  might  have 
deemed  it  condescension  to  listen  to  Paul ;  and  might  have 
derided  him  as  a  babbler,  and  mocked  at  the  "  new  doctrine" 
and  strange  things  which  he  taught.  Then  the  pillars  of 
their  Pantheon  were  not  shaken,  and  it  promised  to  be  an 
everlasting  temple  to  all  the  gods.     But  when,  even  while 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  223 

yet  new,  the  doctrine  first  taught  by  Paul  in  the  market-place 
of  Athens  had  attained  a  sway  over  the  spirits  of  men,  lo 
the  power  and  to  the  progress  of  which  all  that  had  ever  been 
spoken  in  the  groves  of  the  Academy  was  not  once  to  be 
compared,  when  the  heathen  temples  were  deserted,  and 
when  the  unpurchased  sacrifices  might  have  been  cast  to  the 
dogs,  the  cause  of  Jesus,  however  hated,  was  not  thus  to  be 
despised  ;  and  even  philosophers,  in  trying  to  resist  the  effi- 
cacy of  the  "  foolishness  of  preaching,"  which  survived  and 
overmatched  every  other  opposition,  had  to  put  all  their  in- 
genuity, and  art,  and  reason  to  the  task  against  the  nev/  doc- 
trine that  threatened  to  supersede  their  indulgent  paganism. 
Conformable  to  the  incidental  circumstance  recorded  in  scrip- 
ture history,  to  which  we  have  alluded,  is  the  fact  that,  of 
all  those  with  whose  arguments  we  are  acquainted  in  this 
distant  age,  an  Epicurean  philosopher  was  the  first  to  "  en- 
counter" the  Christians  by  his  writings,  in  which,  too,  it  may 
be  remarked,  he  displays  precisely  the  same  spirit  as  that  by 
which  his  predecessors  at  Athens  are  here  characterized. 
It  might  not  be  worth  while,  with  abundant  matter  of  direct 
evidence  before  us,  to  mark  how  the  same  character  is  given 
of  the  Athenians  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  and  in  the  Ora- 
tions of  Demosthenes,  and  how,  at  the  same  time,  Celsus 
also  supports  the  character  of  an  Epicurean  philosopher,  as 
described  in  the  same  passage ;  but  it  may  not  be  amiss,  in 
order  to  show  the  frame  of  the  mind  of  such  a  witness,  to 
draw  an  illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  an  Epicurean 
philosopher  then  "  mocked"  at  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead.  "  There  is,"  says  Celsus,  "  another  absurd- 
ity of  theirs,  that  when  God  shall  throw  a  fire  on  the  world, 
and  all  other  things  shall  be  destroyed,  they  alone  shall  re- 
main ;  and  that  not  only  the  living,  but  they  also  which  have 
been  ever  so  long  dead,  shall  come  forth  out  of  the  earth  in 
their  own  bodies  (or  in  the  same  flesh),  which  is  no  other 
than  the  hope  of  worms.  For  what  soul  of  a  man  would  de- 
sire a  putrefied  body  ?  Nor  is  this  doctrine  of  yours  agreed 
to  by  all  Christians,  for  many  among  you  reject  it  as  impure, 
and  abominable,  and  impossible.  For  how  is  it  possible  that 
a  body  which  has  entirely  been  corrupted  should  return  to 
its  own  nature,  and  to  its  primitive  constitution  which  it  has 
once  lost  1  To  make  flesh  eternal  is  a  thing  so  unreason- 
able, that  God  neither  can  nor  will  do  it."*  There  is  a  sim- 
ilarity, nay,  identity  of  argument  or  of  declamation  between 
the  most  ancient  and  the  most  recent  opposers  of  the  gospel, 
and  reasons  similar  to  the  above,  in  which  Scripture  is  per- 
verted and  God  blasphemed,  may  be  found  of  no  remote  ^ate 
in  the  works  of  another  philosopher  of  the  school  of  Epicu- 

*  Lardner,  vol.  vii.,  p.  245. 


224  APPROPRIATION    OP    THE 

rus  (Byron).  It  is  easy  to  see  how  scripture  can  be  at  once 
perverted  and  ridiculed.  Tiie  answer  of  Origen  is  that  the 
body  at  the  resurrection  will  be  changed  for  the  better,  and 
be  fitted  for  the  soul  in  a  state  of  perfection. 

Flesh  and  blood,  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testament  af- 
firm, cannot  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.  And  that  which  is 
sown  in  corruption  shall  be  raised  in  glory.  But  they  do  af- 
firm that  all  that  are  in  their  graves  shall  come  forth  at  the 
voice  of  the  Son  of  God,  those  who  have  done  good  to  the 
resurrection  of  life,  and  they  who  have  done  evil  to  the  resur- 
rection of  damnation.  But  this  doctrine,  wliich  skeptics  scoff 
at  till  that  day  shall  come,  is  but  an  echo  of  the  voice  of  proph- 
ets, who  told  of  judgments  already  passed  and  fulfilling  now, 
as  well  as  of  those  that  are  to  come.  "  Many  of  them  that 
sleep  in  the  dust  of  the  earth  shall  awake,  some  to  everlast- 
ing life,  and  some  to  shame  and  everlasting  contempt." 
Dan.  xii.,  2.  And  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  which  gives 
assurance  of  that  of  his  followers,  was  also  plainly  foretold, 
"Thou  shalt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  (in  the  grave),  nor  suf- 
fer thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption."    Ps.  xvi.,  10. 

Although  it  cannot  be  disputed  that  the  early  opponents  of 
the  Chrisiian  faith  displayed  great  talent  and  zeal  against  it, 
and  that  they  were  well  versant  in  the  literature  of  their  day, 
yet,  by  a  fatality  instructive  to  skeptics,  their  writings  are 
now  known  chiefly  by  their  fragments,  or  by  the  copious  ex- 
tracts which  have  been  preserved  by  others,  and  the  refu- 
tations they  met  with  in  the  early  ages.  But  while  enough 
has  been  preserved  for  the  use  of  believers,  as  well  as  for 
adoption  by  modern  infidels,  the  very  arguments,  which  may 
now  be  adduced  for  a  better  purpose,  show  how  bitterly  they 
hated  and  how  boldly  they  derided  the  faith  of  the  gospel,  and 
how  keenly  they  contended  against  it.  But  chiefly  known 
now  as  the  adversaries  of  Christianity,  they  who  from  four- 
teen to  seventeen  centuries  ago  strove,  in  their  day,  to  put 
down  the  Christian  rehgion  by  ridicule  and  by  argument  in 
their  published  works,  have  had  their  names  and  their  wri- 
tings preserved  by  Christians,  and  owe  unto  them  their  fame, 
whether  for  good  or  evil.  And  if,  as  was  avowedly  the  case 
with  one  of  their  fellow-heathens,  a  persecutor  in  another 
form,  they  wrote  in  opposition  to  Christianity  for  a  name  in 
all  future  ages,  then  the  lesson  should  not  be  lost  on  their 
more  humble  imitators  ;  for  experience^  the  idol  which  they 
profess  to  worship,  and  to  set  up  against  scriptural  truths, 
might  well  convey  a  salutary  admonition  to  other  speculatists 
in  such  hopes  by  such  means,  and  teach  them  the  value  and 
the  honour  of  having  their  names  and  their  writings  preserv- 
ed and  transmitted  by  the  instrumentality  of  those  whom 
they  affected  to  despise,  and  of  being  finally  condemned  to 
everlasting  fame  by  the  ruin  which  they  wrought  to  the  cause 
which  they  espoused. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  225 

The  elaborate  treatise  of  Celsus  may  be  said  to  be  in  a 
great  measure  preserved  in  the  works  of  Origen,  who  not 
only  states  his  objections,  as  they  were  then  and  long  after 
well  known  in  his  work,  but  has  preserved  them  also  in  his 
own  language.  "  Origen's  answer,"  to  use  the  words  of  Sher- 
lock, "  is  not  a  general  reply  to  Celsus,  but  a  minute  exami- 
nation of  all  his  objections,  even  of  those  which  appeared  to 
Origen  most  frivolous.  For  his  friend  Ambrosius,  to  whom 
he  dedicates  the  work,  desired  him  to  omit  nothing.  In  or- 
der to  this  examination,  Origen  states  the  objections  of  Cel- 
sus in  his  own  words  ;  and,  that  nothing  might  escape  him, 
he  takes  them  in  the  order  in  which  Celsus  had  placed  them."* 

Origen  adduces  the  objections  of  Celsus  in  order  to  refute 
them,  and  to  maintain  the  truth  of  Christianity  against  all  the 
reasonings  and  raillery  of  the  heathen  philosopher.  And 
while  they  are  thus  before  us,  and  have  been  thus  carefully 
preserved  in  a  manner  that  is  remarkable,  their  high  antiquity 
alone  converts  every  objection  then  drawn  from  the  Scrip- 
tures into  a  demonstration  of  their  prior  existence,  and  of 
their  genuineness  as  the  original  Christian  writings.  Celsus 
could  not  have  cavilled  at  the  Scriptures  before  they  existed ; 
and  Origen  could  not  have  answered  the  minute,  laboured, 
and  sarcastic  treatise  of  Celsus  before  it  was  written.  And 
all  that  we  now  need  is  not  the  answer  of  Origen  against 
Celsus,  but  the  objections  of  Celsus,  often  common  to  him 
and  modern  infidels,  against  the  Scriptures.  Were  we  even 
to  suppose  that  these  objections  have  never  been  rightly  an- 
swered to  this  day,  it  would  not  affect  the  purpose  for  which 
we  would  now  adduce  them  ;  and  without  entering  here  into 
the  controversy  between  an  advocate  of  the  gospel  and  the 
defender  of  paganism,  it  is  enough  for  our  object  that  the  truth 
or  the  inspiration  of  Scripture  was  a  subject  of  contention, 
and  that  Origen  had  to  stand  up  in  the  defence  of  the  gospels, 
and  to  vindicate  the  very  words  of  our  Scriptures  against  the 
stigmas  of  an  adversary,  even  as  a  Christian  would  in  the 
present  day.  And  it  may  be  manifest  that  arguments  which 
infidels  in  all  ages  have  urged  against  the  credibility  of  the 
gospel  as  a  divine  dispensation,  are  direct  confirmations  of 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus. 

Celsus,  joining  his  testimony  to  that  of  Tacitus  and  others, 
stigmatizes  Jesus  as  "  the  author  of  this  sedition,"  as  he 
terms  Christianity  (p.  225).  We  agree  with  Celsus  that  it 
was  a  senition  ;  but  a  sedition  against  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness, which  is  allegiance  to  the  God  of  heaven.    And  Celsus 

*  Lardner,  vol.  vii.,  p.  277.  "  Fabricius  and  Lardnef ,"  says  Gibbon, 
"have  acrnrately  compiled  all  that  can  now  be  discovered  of  Julian's  work 
against  the  Christians."— Hist.,  vol.  iv.,  p.  84.  Lardner  has  no  less  accu- 
rately adduced  many  passages  of  Celsus  in  tne  same  volume,  vii.,  p.  210- 
378,  to  which  the  reader  is  specially  referred 


226  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

agrees  with  us  that  Jesus  was  its  author.  But  he,  like  Ju- 
hau  after  him,  does  more.  And  by  this  selfsame  allegation 
and  argument,  they  show  that  in  the  sedition  which  Chris- 
tianity raised  against  idolatry  and  the  powers  of  darkness,  it 
is  proved  to  be  the  kingdom  which,  in  the  days  of  those 
kingdoms  of  which  the  Roman  was  the  last,  the  God  of 
heaven  was,  according  to  the  prophets,  to  set  up,  and  which 
was  destined  finally  to  break  in  pieces  and  consume  all  these 
kingdoms,  and  to  stand  for  ever. 

"  It  is  but  a  few  years  ago,"  says  Celsus,  "  since  he  deliv- 
ered this  doctrine  who  is  now  reckoned  by  the  Christians 
to  be  the  Son  of  God."  Pagan  idolaters  might  have  boasted 
of  deities  old  as  those  of  the  Hindoos  ;  and  Celsus  himself 
might  have  bowed  before  many  an  image  made  by  men's 
hands  at  a  far  earlier  date  than  that  of  the  time  of  Christ's 
appearance  upon  earth.  But  although  we  are  not  satisfied 
that  the  question,  whether  these  deities  or  Jesus  was  most 
worthy  to  be  worshipped,  has  thus  to  be  philosophically  de- 
termined now,  it  is  some  surer  satisfaction  to  receive  such 
early  testimony  from  an  enemy,  that  Jesus  was  then  reck- 
oned by  the  Christians  the  Son  of  God ;  and,  reversing  the 
reasoning  of  Celsus,  that  testimony  is  enhanced  and  not 
diminished,  even  because  of  the  "  few  years"  that  intervened 
from  the  time  that  Jesus  himself  "  had  delivered  his  doc- 
trine" till  an  adversary  thus  bare  witness  to  the  fact;  or 
that  Jesus  delivered  his  doctrine  at  a  time  when  the  expec- 
tation was  universal  of  the  advent  of  the  predicted  Messiah. 

Celsus,  while  he  settles  the  question  as  to  the  Divine  mis- 
sion and  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  argues,  like  a  very  pagan, 
that  no  God  ever  visited  men  without  being  received,  espe- 
cially when  he  was  expected ;  and,  moreover,  he  ridicules 
the  contention  between  the  Christians  and  the  Jews,  and 
deems  it  no  better  than  the  dispute,  according  to  the  proverb, 
about  the  shadow  of  an  ass  ;  and  reckoning  it  of  no  impor- 
tance, he  resolves  the  whole  into  this  :  "  both  sides  believ- 
ing that  a  Saviour  of  mankind  is  to  come ;  but  they  do  not 
agree  whether  he  who  has  been  prophesied  of  be  come  or 
not."  A  believer  in  the  oracles  of  Apollo  might  deride  the 
word  of  tjie  prophets  of  Israel ;  but  we  cannot  deem  as  no- 
thing the  word  of  the  Lord,  nor  think  that  he  has  called  back 
his  promise,  who  has  assuredly  sent  forth  his  judgments. 
But,  balancing  things  by  their  importance,  we  can  leave  un- 
touched the  previous  argument  of  Celsus,  and  the  analogy 
drawn  from  paganism,  and  take  up  the  testimony  of  Cel- 
sus that  the  Jews,  no  less  than  the  Christians,  believed  in 
the  coming  of  a  Saviour  of  mankind  ;  and  that  the  only  ques- 
tion between  them  was,  whether  he  who  had  been  testified 
of  was  come  or  not.  That  question  Celsus  himself,  by  per- 
sonating a  Jew  in  a  large  part  of  his  work,  while  arguing 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  227 

against  the  Christians,  and  by  thus,  as  it  were,  uniting,  so 
far  as  he  could,  the  testimony  of  both  Jew  and  Gentile,  and 
by  the  abundance  of  appeals  to  the  life,  the  humiliation,  and 
the  death  of  Jesus,  might  enable  us  in  a  great  measure  to 
decide.  And  contemptible  though  he  deemed  it,  while  un- 
consciously supplying  means  still  useful  for  its  solution,  it 
will  scarcely  be  denied  now  that  that  very  question  is  infi- 
nitely more  important  than  all  that  ever  were  agitated  in  pa- 
gan times  concerning  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen.  None 
need  to  be  told  that  the  prophets  of  Israel  were  inspired ; 
that  they  testified  of  a  Messiah,  and  that  the  rejection  of  Je- 
sus by  the  Jews  is  a  necessary  proof  that  he  was  the  Christ. 

Celsus  boasts  of  being  able  to  "  tell  many  things  concern- 
ing the  affairs  of  Jesus,  and  those  too  true,  different  from 
those  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  But  I  purposely 
omit  them."  We  know,  as  the  last  of  the  evangelists  testi- 
fies in  the  last  words  of  his  gospel,  that  Jesus  did  "  many 
other  things"  that  were  not  written.  But  it  would  be  draw- 
ing far  too  largely  on  our  credulity  to  ask  us  to  believe  what 
indeed  could  only  be  insinuated  rather  than  affirmed,  that  so 
subtle  an  adversary  could  have  had  recourse  to  other  and 
better  means  of  overthrowing  the  Christian  faith  than  those 
which  he  adopted.  He  gives  ample  proof  that  it  was  not 
from  want  of  will  that  he  would  have  left  the  Christian  cause 
uninjured  wherever  he  could  hope  to  wourd  it.  And  the 
fact,  not  to  be  misrepresented,  is,  that,  whether  purposely 
omitted  or  not,  he  has  told  nothing  concerning  the  affairs  of 
Jesus  different  from  those  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus. 
And  if  there  could  possibly  be  a  doubt  of  the  reason  of  his 
refraining  to  do  so,  there  is  none  as  to  his  admission  of  the 
fact,  vvhich  could  not  have  been  either  known  or  stated  if  it 
had  not  been  true,  that  the  history  of  Jesus  had  been  written 
by  the  disciples  of  Jesus.  This  carries  up  the  testimony  con- 
cerning the  writings  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus  to  that  early 
age  in  vi^hich  Celsus  could  even  profess  to  know  otherwise 
many  things  concerning  the  affairs  of  Jesus,  and  when  the 
events  of  the  life  of  a  person  so  extraordinary,  even  in  a  hu- 
man sense,  could  not,  from  the  mere  fact  of  the  prevalence 
of  his  religion,  and  the  martyrdom  of  so  many  for  his  name's 
sake,  have  been  unknown,  and  must  have  been  inquired  into. 
Moreover,  the  fact  is  expressly  stated,  that  the  history  of  the 
life  of  Jesus  was  written  by  his  disciples,  and  these  are  thus 
peculiarly  distinguished  from  those  who  embraced  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  jor  believed  in  their  writings,  whom  he  other- 
wise calls  Christians,  believers,  &c.     (Lard.,  p.  214.) 

What  the  histories  of  Jesus  then  received  by  Christians 
really  were,  and  what  they  recorded  concerning  him,  Celsus 
leaves  us  at  no  loss  to  know ;  for  in  full  confidence  that  no- 
thing could  withstand  his  reasoning,  he  thus  sets  a  seal  upon 


228  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

their  genuineness,  "  These  things  we  have  alleged  to  you 
out  of  your  own  writings,  not  needing  any  other  witnesses. 
Thus  you  are  beaten  with  your  own  weapons."  Celsus  pro- 
duced no  counter-testimony — bitter  as  was  his  enmity,  he 
brought  nothing,  not  the  shadow  of  Im  evidence,  and  scarcely 
even  the  form  of  an  accusation,  from  any  other  quarter — at  a 
time  when  all  other  religions  were  tolerated,  and  every  mode 
of  paganism  upheld ;  at  a  time  when,  as  well  as  before  and 
after,  Christians  were  tortured  to  wring  from  them  any  cliarge 
against  either  their  faith  or  their  practice,  the  writer  of  a  long 
and  elaborate  work  against  them  drew  his  objections  against 
Christianity  from  the  Scriptures,  that  is,  literally,  writings  of 
the  Christians  alone  ;  and  limited  to  them,  whether  by  ne- 
cessity or  choice,  he  could  not  reason  against  these  writings, 
but  from  them.  And  hence  it  became  his  business  to  extract 
largely  from  the  Scriptures  ;  and,  for  the  sake  of  a  single  ar- 
gument, he  had  often  to  adduce  various  texts,  and  every  at- 
tempt to  show  any  contradiction  or  inconsistency  between 
one  passage  and  another  involved  the  necessity  of  quoting 
both,  and  redoubled  at  every  step  the  proof  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  Scriptures,  as  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus. 
But  as  to  the  boast  of  Celsus,  that  Christians  were,  by  the 
method  he  adopted,  beaten  with  their  own  weapons,  as  he 
himself  might  have  believed  and  also  convinced  others ;  it 
was  not  yesterday  that  they  were  thus  beaten,  and  they  yet 
survive  the  shock.  Nor  will  we  give  up  one  word  of  Scrip- 
ture for  all  the  assaults  of  our  enemies.  And  as  to  our  own 
weapons  being  used  against  us  as  the  instruments  of  our  de- 
feat, we  grant  that  the  warfare  in  writing  was  thus  begun  by 
Celsus,  and  that  such  was  the  first  bold  onset  of  our  foes.  But 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  word  of  God,  is  yet  in 
our  hands,  and  never  shall  be  wrested  from  us.  And  although 
our  opponents  tried  to  turn  it  against  us,  and  did  indeed  take 
up  our  weapons,  we  need  but  farther  to  show  how  eflectually 
they  used  them,  to  prove  that,  on  the  issue  of  the  contest, 
they  vi^ill  not  take  up  their  own. 

Such,  in  illustration,  is  the  power  of  the  reasoning  of  Cel- 
sus ;  and  so  nobly  does  he  use  our  weapons,  that  in  a  single 
objection,  stated  in  two  lines,  he  gives  evidence  that  none  of 
the  Gospels  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus  were  then  un- 
known or  unacknowledged,  either  by  believers  or  unbeliev- 
ers, as  the  Christian  Scriptures.  "  To  the  sepulchre  of  Je- 
sus there  came  two  angels,  as  is  said  by  some ;  or,  as  by 
others,  one."  Matthew  and  Mark  mention  one;  Luke  and 
John,  two.  The  seeming  contradiction — for  there  is,  in  real- 
ity, none — admits  of  an  easy  solution  ;  if  one  angel  was  seen 
at  one  time, might  not  two  have  been  seen  the  next  moment? 
but  could  Celsus  have  scrutinized  the  Gospels,  as  it  is-  thus 
manifest  that  he  did,  if  they  had  not  then  existed  1 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  229 

It  is  said,  some  of  "  the  believers,  as  if  they  were  drunk, 
take  a  hberty  to  alter  the  gospel  from  the  first  writing,"  &c. 
And  in  the  space  of  eighty  years  after  the  death  of  the  last 
of  the  evangelists,  an  unbeliever,  as  if  he  were  infatuated, 
refers  to  the^zr^^  writing  or  original  scripture  account,  while 
by  the  multiplicity  of  his  references  and  extracts  from  the 
Gospels,  he  laboured  hard,  as  if  on  purpose  to  enable  us  to 
judge  that  they  are  unaltered  still. 

"  Oh  light !  oh  truth  !"  exclaims  our  adversary,  in  refuta- 
tion of  the  gospel.  "  Jesus  with  his  own  mouth  expressly 
declares  these  things,  as  you  have  recorded  it,  that  there  will 
come  unto  you  other  men,  with  like  wonders,  wicked  men 
and  impostors"  (p.  217).  The  great  discovery  seems  here  to 
have  been,  that  Jesus  having  foretold  the  coming  of  deceivers 
and  false  prophets,  who  would  work  wonders  (Matt,  vii.,  15; 
xxiv.,  11,  12;  Mark  xiii.,  22),  he  himself  was  but  as  one  of 
them.  But  whether  Jesus  was  a  wicked  man,  like  those 
whose  coming  he  foretold,  is  a  question  which  may  hereafter 
be  left  to  the  arbitration  of  other  skeptics  than  Celsus.  Nor 
is  it  clear  as  light,  because  their  works  were  lying  wonders, 
that  his  were  the  same.  But  well  may  the  Christian  exclaim, 
Oh  light !  oh  truth !  on  thus  hearing  that  these  predictions 
of  Christ,  as  recorded  in  Scripture,  had  been  expressly  declared 
with  his  own  mouth.  Could  any  light  be  clearer,  or  any  truth 
more  plain,  than  the  testimony  which  is  here  given  to  the 
record,  as  containing  the  express  words  of  Jesus  1 

An  Epicurean  philosopher  was  only  labouring  in  his  voca- 
tion and  defending  the  doctrines  of  his  master  against  an  op- 
posing creed,  in  stigmatizing  and  ridiculing  the  precepts  of 
Jesus.  "  They  have  such  precepts  as  these  :  '  Resist  not  him 
that  injures  you  ;  and  if  a  man  strike  thee,  as  his  phrase  is, 
on  the  one  cheek,  offer  to  him  the  other  also.'  "  And  igno- 
rant of  the  difference  between  the  dispensation  of  the  law 
and  of  the  gospel,  Celsus  contrasts  the  requirements  of  Je- 
sus with  the  tolerations  of  the  law.  "  Moses,"  as  he  says, 
"  encouraged  the  people  to  get  riches,  and  destroy  their  ene- 
mies. But  his  Son  (the  son  of  God),  the  Nazarean  man, 
delivers  quite  contrary  laws.  Nor  will  he  admit  a  rich  man, 
nor  one  that  affects  dominion,  to  have  access  to  his  Father. 
Nor  will  he  allow  men  to  take  more  care  for  food  or  treasure 
than  the  ravens :  nor  to  provide  for  clothing  so  much  as  the 
lilies :  and  to  him  that  has  smitten  once,  he  directs  to  offer 
that  he  may  smite  again."  P.  216,  217.  That  the  words  of 
Jesus  are  here  taken  from  our  Gospels  is  perfectly  manifest. 
And  we  need  not  wonder  that  a  follower  of  Epicurus,  look- 
ing for  his  happiness  from  the  enjoyments  of  sense,  should 
have  stood  up,  as  if  in  self-preservation,  against  so  detested 
and  murderous  doctrines,  in  compliance  with  which  his  de- 
votion to  his  belly  as  his  god  would  have  been  done  away, 
U 


230  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

and  an  end  would  have  been  put  to  the  very  life  of  an  Epi- 
curean. Nor  was  the  doctrine  to  be  borne,  that  revenge 
should  cease  to  be  a  virtue,  or  retaliation  to  be  esteemed  a 
brave  and  honourable  act,  and  that  forgiveness  of  injuries 
and  love  of  enemies  should  be  exalted  in  their  stead,  to  reg- 
ulate the  spirit  of  so  noble  an  animal  as  man. 

Of  that  saj^ing  of  Jesus  "  that  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to 
pass  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  en- 
ter into  the  kingdom  of  God,"  he  says,  "  it  was  plainly  taken 
from  Plato ;  but  Jesus  had  spoiled  the  observation  of  Plato, 
who  says.  To  be  very  good  and  very  rich  is  impossible." 
P.  213.  The  meaning  may  be  analogous,  but  the  expressions 
are  not  the  same.  But  the  saying  of  Jesus,  as  quoted  by 
Celsus,  we  must  do  him  the  justice  to  say,  is  plainly  taken 
from  the  gospel. 

That  Jesus  said,  "  I  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sin- 
ners to  repentance;"  and  that,  on  contrasting  the  humility  of 
the  contrite  publican  with  the  presumption  of  the  self-right- 
eous Pharisee,  he  had  pronounced  the  former  justified  rather 
than  the  latter,  may  be  seen  from  the  misinterpretation  of 
Celsus.  "  It  is  a  saying  of  the  Christians  that  God  was  sent 
to  sinners.  But  why  was  he  not  sent  to  those  who  were  free 
from  sin  ?  What  harm  is  it  not  to  have  sinned  ?  God  ac- 
cepts an  unrighteous  man  if  he  humbleth  himself  for  his 
wickedness  ;  but  a  righteous  man,  who  has  practised  virtue 
from  the  beginning,  if  he  looks  up  to  him  he  will  not  accept." 
P.  219.  What  else  could  a  man,  so  spiritually  blind,  do,  but 
testify  of  the  Scriptures  by  abusing  them  I  The  free  grace 
of  God  in  calling  sinners  to  repentance  was  repeatedly  to 
him  a  theme  of  insulting  scoffing  and  bitter  invective,  and 
has  often  been  a  stumbling-block  to  others  than  the  self- 
righteous  Pharisee,  who  have  refused  to  listen  to  the  invita- 
tions of  the  prophets  as  well  as  to  the  words  of  Jesus,  Ho 
every  one  that  thirsieth,  come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath 
no.money ;  come  ye,  buy  and  eat;  yea,  come  buy  wine  and  milk 
without  money  and  'without  price.  He  makeih  intercession  for 
the  transgressors. 

Jesus  is  contemptuously  called  "  the  Nazarean  man,"  or 
man  of  Nazareth.  We  take  the  testimony  as  to  the  place  of 
our  Lord's  abode,  before  his  public  ministry  began,  and  to 
the  passages  of  Scripture  in  which  it  is  spoken  of,  as  having 
come  from  that  city  which  was  lightly  esteemed :  neverthe- 
less, we  are  not  ashamed  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.     P.  218. 

"  If  God  would  send  forth  a  spirit  from  himself,  what  need 
had  he  to  breathe  him  into  the  womb  of  a  woman  1  For 
since  he  knew  how  to  make  men,  he  might  have  formed  a 
body  for  this  spirit."  Thus  vainly  reasons  Celsus  against 
the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  thus 
clearly  does  he  testify  that,  from  the  beginning,  this  doctrine 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  231 

of  the  gospel  was  ever  the  same.  Unto  the  pure  all  things 
are  pure ;  but  unto  them  that  are  defiled  and  unbelieving  is 
nothing  pure  ;  but  even  their  mind  knd  conscience  is  defiled. 
And  from  the  first  to  the  last  of  our  assailants,  illustrations  of 
this  scriptural  truth  have  been  given,  even  in  respect  to  the 
immaculate  conception  of  the  Son  of  God.  But  Celsus  might 
have  known,  had  he  searched  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament as  he  scrutinized  the  writings  of  the  New,  that  that 
very  fact  which  seemed  to  shock  his  pagan  apprehensions, 
and  the  narrative  of  which  in  the  gospels  he  adduces  against 
their  credibility,  was  an  essential  characteristic  of  the  prom- 
ised Messiah.  And  we  hold  him  confessed  that  such  was 
then  the  faith  of  Christians  and  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel. 

Jesus,  indeed,  did  not  come  into  the  world  and  live  among 
men  in  the  manner  that  pagans  would  have  looked  for  or  ex- 
pected of  a  God  ;  and  the  circumstances  of  his  life,  and  the 
very  fact  as  well  as  the  manner  of  his  death,  seemed,  ac- 
cording to  their  knowledge  and  conceptions  of  the  celestials, 
to  afford  abundant  matter  for  demonstrating  that  the  "  affairs 
of  Jesus"  were  not  the  acts  of  a  deity.  Looking  to  the 
things  that  are  seen  and  to  the  glory  that  must  perish,  they 
reasoned  as  if  the  thoughts  of  the  Most  High,  the  only  living 
and  true  God,  whom  they  knew  not,  were  as  their  thoughts. 
And  all  that  Celsus  and  his  followers  say  of  Jesus  shows, 
as  all  Christians  will  admit,  that  he  was  not  such  a  one  as 
the  gods  of  the  heathens,  and  that  he  did  not  act  among  men 
as  might  have  been  expected  of  any  of  their  number. 

The  chief  cities  of  the  world  were  ever  ready  to  contend 
for  the  glory  of  being  the  birthplace  of  a  god  or  of  a  hero ; 
and  despicable  did  it  seem  in  the  thoughts  and  by  the  words 
of  Celsus  that  he  who  was  called  the  Son  of  God  was  born 
in  "a  Jewish  village!"  And  yet,  out  of  a  Jewish  village, 
thus  lightly  esteemed  and  little  among  the  thousands  of  Is- 
rael, was  he  to  come  forth,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord  by  the  prophets,  whose  goings  forth  had  been  of  old 
even  from  everlasting.  The  words  of  the  prophets  are  true 
to  this  hour;  and  all  the  gods  of  the  heathens,  but  in  name, 
are  forgotten.  And  we  need  but  to  be  told  of  a  Jewish  vil- 
lage, however  contemptuous  the  title  may  have  seemed,  as 
the  place,  exclusive  of  all  others,  where  the  Messiah  was  to 
be  born. 

Celsus,  as  if  unwilling  that  any  vestige  of  worldly  great- 
ness should  in  any  way  be  attached  to  the  history  of  Jesus, 
accuses  the  "  composers  of  the  genealogies  of  great  extrava- 
gance in  tracing  his  descent  from  the  first  man  and  from  the 
Jewish  kings,  and  he  jestingly  remarks  on  the  ignorance  of 
the  carpenter's  wife  of  her  descent  from  the  Jewish  kings." 
P.  216.  'I'he  genealogies  are  inserted  in  the  gospels  of  Mat- 
thew and  of  Luke.     And  he  not  only  speaks  of  composers 


232  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

in  the  plural  number,  as  implying  more  than  one,  but,  by 
speaking  of  the  tracing  of  Christ's  descent  from  the  first 
man,  he  certifies  specially  his  knowledge  of  the  gospel  by 
Luke,  in  which  only  the  genealogy  is  carried  up  to  Adam. 
And,  in  his  false  estimate  of  human  greatness,  little  did  he 
know  that,  in  recording  his  scriptural  and  actual  knowledge 
of  the  mean  condition  of  the  mother  of  Jesus,  she  whose 
humble  lot  was  the  subject  of  the  jest,  was  not  only  to  be 
honoured  for  many  ages  even  in  Rome  and  over  the  em- 
pire, more  than  any  or  than  all  of  royal  lineage  ;  but  that,  in 
kindred  idolatry,  she  was  to  supplant  that  of  the  great  god- 
dess Diana,  else,  had  he  known  it,  he  might  have  been  the 
first  to  fall  down  and  worship,  and,  instead  of  railing  at  her 
lowly  rank,  adore  her  as  "the  Queen  of  Heaven."  But 
Christianity  was  then  uncorrupted,  and  he  preferred  idolatry 
to  it.  The  descent  of  the  carpenter's  wife  from  the  Jewish 
kings  turns  this  jest  of  Celsus  into  a  double  testimony  of  the 
Messiahship  of  Jesus,  who,  though  of  the  house  and  lineage  of 
David,  and  a  branch  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  grew  up  as  a  ten- 
der plant  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground.  He  was  despised^ 
and  we  esteemed  him  not. 

Blinded  by  the  god  of  this  world,  and  looking  only  to  the 
outward  appearance,  Celsus,  as  if  not  even  deigning  precisely 
to  specify  their  number,  states  that  Jesus,  "  taking  to  him- 
self ten  or  twelve  abjects,  vile  publicans  and  sailors  (or  boat- 
men), went  about  with  them,  getting  his  subsistence  in  abase 
and  shameful  manner."  P.  229.  Thus  did  the  proud  spirit 
of  man  look  on  Jesus  and  his  apostles,  for  as  such  we  are  at 
no  loss  to  recognise  these  "abjects,"  Judas,  as  it  were,  being 
struck  out  from  the  number.  Whether  they  too  had  studied 
Plato,  or  by  what  magic  arts  they  prevailed,  or  how  a  pom- 
pous paganism,  upheld  by  all  earthly  power,  and  defended  by 
philosophers,  was  soon  laid  in  the  dust  before  them,  Celsus, 
perhaps  purposely,  has  omitted  to  show.  But  he  has  told  us 
of  their  condition,  and  that  is  enough  to  prove  that  the  power 
was  not  of  man,  and  that  God  did  choose  the  foolish  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  the  weak  things  of 
the  world  to  confound  the  things  that  were  mighty,  and  base 
things  of  the  world,  and  things  that  were  despised,  to  bring 
to  naught  things  that  were.  Idolatry  was  brought  to  naught 
by  the  preaching  of  the  apostles  and  their  followers;  and  no 
human  wisdom  or  power  was  ascribed  to  them  by  their  ene- 
mies, as  they  claimed  none  for  themselves. 

Celsus  admits  that  the  reasons  assigned  by  Christians  for 
believing  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  were,  that  he  had 
suffered  for  the  destruction  of  the  parent  of  evil,  and  because 
he  healed  the  lame  and  the  blind,  and,  as  they  said,  raised 
the  dead.  But  these  reasons  were  in  his  opinion  overruled 
by  the  mean  condition  in  which  Jesus  appeared.     And  his 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  233 

reasonings  from  scriptural  facts  against  the  Divinity  of 
Jesus  lead  him  to  accumulate  the  proofs  that  he  was  the 
very  Christ,  the  promised  Messiah  that  should  come  into  the 
world,  of  vi^hom  all  the  prophets  have  spoken.  And  abun- 
dant illustrations,  both  of  the  antiquity  and  genuineness  of 
the  New  Testament  writings,  having  been  adduced,  the  far- 
ther confirmation  of  the  truth  by  his  perverted  reasoning 
may  be  succinctly  noticed. 

The  manner  in  which  Jesus  warned  and  threatened,  say- 
ing, Wo  unto  you,  I  foretel  unto  you,  is  deemed  unworthy 
of  a  god  ;  and  assuredly,  if  the  remonstrances  of  Jupiter  had 
been  disregarded  like  those  of  Jesus,  they  would,  in  the 
fancy  of  a  heathen,  have  been  followed  by  a  thunderbolt. 
But  had  Celsus  looked  equally  to  all  the  words  of  Jesus,  he 
Avould  have  known  that  he  came  not  to  destroy  men's  lives, 
but  to  save  them.  To  prove  that  he  was  not  the  Word  of 
God,  Celsus  had  only,  in  his  estimation,  to  know  and  to 
maintain  that  he  was  but  a  miserable  man,  condemned, 
scourged,  and  crucified.  The  cross  of  Christ,  the  hope  and 
glory  of  believers,  was  an  oflTence  and  a  scandal  not  to  be 
borne  by  a  defender  of  idolatry.  How,  he  argues,  "  could  a 
God  be  betrayed  and  deserted  by  those  who  esteemed  him  a 
Saviour,  and  the  Son  and  Messenger  of  the  Most  High  God  1 
If  a  god,  or  a  demon,  or  a  wise  man,  would  he  not  have 
avoided  his  sufferings  if  he  had  foreknown  them  ?  Would 
he  have  been  taken  and  executed  ?  Would  he  have  cried 
out,  as  impatient  of  thirst,  and  received  the  vinegar  and  gall 
to  drink  .1  Would  he  not  at  last,  if  not  before,  have  deliv- 
ered himself  from  all  his  ignominy,  and  executed  justice  on 
his  enemies,  who  reviled  both  him  and  his  Father  T' 

We  come  not  yet  to  speak  of  the  character  of  Christ — if 
we  dare  speak  of  it  at  all — of  itself  Divine.  But  though  we 
have  borne  with  the  calumniator  for  a  moment,  for  the  sake 
of  the  witness,  and  have  seen  how  the  memory  of  Jesus 
was  mocked  while  the  history  of  his  hfe  was  traditionally 
new,  yet  we  cannot  adduce,  even  in  support  of  our  faith,  the 
obloquy  that  was  cast  upon  the  meek,  and  lowly,  and  suffer- 
ing Jesus,  even  because  such  was  his  character  and  condi- 
tion on  the  earth,  nor  can  we  listen  to  the  reasons  given  by 
an  idolater,  in  an  opposite  spirit  from  that  of  the  Roman 
centurion,  to  show  that  Jesus  was  not  the  Son  of  God,  with- 
out asking  this  blasphemer  of  our  Lord  who  or  what  were 
the  gods  which  he  worshipped,  that  he,  the  father  of  an  evil 
progeny,  should  have  sat  as  the  self-constituted  judge  of  the 
Messiahship  or  Divinity  of  Jesus.  As  to  the  former,  he  knew 
nothing  ;  for  he  believed  not  in  the  prophets  of  Israel,  or  in 
the  God  by  whom  they  spake.  And  if  any  of  his  deities 
had  been  manifested  in  the  flesh ;  if  such  sensual  beings  had, 
even  in  fancy,  needed  to  be  incarnate,  they  might  not  in- 
U2 


234  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

deed  have  brooked  the  contumely  which  Jesus  bore,  noi 
have  suffered  as  Jesus  did,  nor  would  they  have  gone  about, 
to  human  appearance,  in  a  mean  and  despicable  manner : 
but  would  they  have  gone  aboi\t  continually  doing  good? 
would  they  hav^  been  holy,  harmless,  and  undefiled  ?  or 
would  they  not  rather,  difficult  as  was  the  task,  have  out- 
matched men  in  wickedness  as  in  power  1  Would  not  a 
murderer  have  thereby  better  sustained  the  character  of  Ju- 
piter 1  Might  not  Hercules  have  been  sought  for  in  the  chief 
of  a  ring  1  Would  not  a  liar,  with  speed  of  foot,  have  been 
the  very  image  of  Mercury  ?  And  as  a  drunkard  becomes 
fit  for  nothing,  would  not  such  a  one,  without  any  quality 
besides,  have  proved  a  perfect  Bacchus  1  We  go  not  over 
the  catalogue  of  human  crimes  and  of  heathen  gods,  them- 
selves fashioned  after  the  impure  conceptions  of  deluded 
mortals  who  had  changed  the  glory  of  God  into  a  lie,  but,  in 
answering  the  charges  against  the  humble  and  the  holy 
Jesus,  as  the  messenger  of  the  God  of  heaven  and  the  Me- 
diator between  God  and  man,  we  cast  back  every  foul  re- 
proach uttered  against  him  and  his  gospel,  and,  adopting  the 
very  principle  of  our  adversary,  we  aver,  that  as  Jesus  did 
not  live  as  any  of  the  heathen  deities  would  have  done,  so 
their  gods  are  not  as  our  Lord,  our  enemies  themselves  be- 
ing judges.  But  all  who  believe  in  Moses  and  the  propHets 
must  see  that  their  railings  against  the  meek,  and  lowly,  and 
suffering'  Jesus  are  testimonials  that  he  was  the  Messiah, 
who  did  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard  in 
the  streets,  who  did  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor  quench  the 
smoking  jiax ;  but  to  whom  the  vinegar  and  gall  were  given, 
and  who  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin  (Isa.  xlii.,  2,  3,  liii.) 

The  reasonings  of  Celsus  are,  in  one  essential  respect, 
akin  to  those  of  Volney :  a  false  inference  is  drawn  alike  by 
both  from  known  and  indisputed  facts.  In  the  one  case  as 
in  the  other,  as  has  heretofore  been  shown,  and  as  will  here- 
after be  seen,  the  facts,  from  which  objections  to  the  credi- 
bility of  scripture  are  ingeniously  but  most  falsely  drawn, 
were  the  subjects  of  prophecy ;  but  more  than  this  in  the 
case  of  Celsus,  they  form  also  the  very  substance  of  the 
gospel. 

It  is,  we  think,  from  the  connexion  which  subsists  be- 
tween the  various  parts  of  the  Christian  evidence  that  we 
may  best  deduce  the  great  value  and  importance  of  the  com- 
bined labours  of  our  adversaries,  while  those  of  each  are 
effective  in  their  proper  sphere.  Volney  and  Celsus,  divi- 
ding the  prophecies  alike,  took  their  separate  share  in  de- 
monstrating their  completion.  The  former  went  to  Judea 
and  other  countries  of  the  East,  and  unwittingly  fixed  on  the 
facts  which  the  prophets  had  foretold,  and  from  hence  strove 
to  show,  by  the  power  of  reason,  that  no  revelation  of  the 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  235 

Divine  will  had  ever  been  given  to  man.  Oelsus,  equaflly 
blind  to  what  had  been  foretold,  and  ridiculing  in  the  most 
contemptuous  terms  the  question  between  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles as  to  the  coming  of  Christ,  takes  up  the  facts  recorded 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  thereby  not  only  confirms  their 
antiquity  and  genuineness  as  the  Christian  scriptures,  but, 
as  he  thinks,  for  the  confusion  of  believers,  he  also  fixes 
ehiefiy  and  as  unwittingly  on  those  very  things  which  the 
prophets  had  foretold  !  These  two  great  masters,  aided  by 
kindred  spirits,  would  seem  to  have  conspired  to  divide  be- 
tween them  the  great  and  connected  portions  of  the  Chris- 
tian evidence.  Eoth  reason  wrongly  from  facts  which  they 
state  correctly,  and  which  illustrate  the  truth  which  they  de- 
nied. The  facts  on  which  their  reasonings  rest  are  for  us, 
but  their  arguments  are  against  us.  And  we  have  another 
and  a  better  witness  than  all.  U'he  spirit  of  prophecy,  hav- 
ing preoccupied  the  ground  which  they  have  respectively 
taken,  maintains  it  even  by  their  means,  and  makes  use  of 
their  instrumentahty  to  fix  for  ever  the  testimony  of  Jesus, 
where  they  strove  to  set  up  the  stigma  of  reproach  and  the 
standard  of  rebellion  against  him. 

While  Celsus  denies  the  truth  of  many  of  the  statements 
recorded  in  the  gospel,  and  while  his  denial  of  these  is  in 
evSry  instance  a  testimony  of  the  genuineness  of  the  Gos- 
pels as  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  there  are  many 
facts  which  he  not  only  explicitly  admits,  but  the  truth  of 
which  is  directly  and  essentially  implied  in  the  arguments 
which  he  draws  from  them  against  the  cred'ioility  of  the 
scriptures  ;  and  of  these  the  details  of  the  humiliation  and 
sufferings  of  Christ  form  a  prominent  part  in  the  work  of 
Celsus  and  in  the  words  of  the  prophets.  After  the  same 
manner,  of  which  we  have  seen  abundant  examples,  Celsus 
animadverts  so  largely  upon  the  writings  of  the  Christians, 
referring  exclusively  to  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  and 
chiefly  to  the  Gospels,  that  about  eighty  references  or  quo- 
tations from  the  word  of  God,  as  Christians  esteem  the  scrip- 
tures of  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  are  to  be  found  in  the  first 
known  work  published  against  Christians,  entitled  the  Word 
of  Truth.  A  brief  recapitulation  of  these  may  here  be  given, 
which  refer  to  the  humiliation  and  sufferings  of  Jesus,  from 
which  he  affects  ta  demonstrate  that  he  was  not  the  Son  of 
God,  but  by  which,  as  will  afterward  be  seen,  and  as  no 
Christian  needs  to  be  told,  many  express  prophecies  con- 
cerning the  Messiah  were  fulfilled  in  Jesus. 

Jesus,  the  author  of  the  new  religion  of  the  Christians, 
was  a  Jew  (an  Israelite  of  the  tribe  of  Judah),  and  was  born 
in  a  Jewish  village.  His  mother,  a  poor  woman,  the  wife 
of  a  carpenter,  who  at  first  disowned  her,  fied  with  him,  for 


APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

fear  he  should  be  put  to  death  by  Herod,  into  Egypt,  where 
he  learned  the  art  of  magic ;  and  if,  on  his  returning  from 
thence  to  Palestine,  he  did  some  wonderful  works,  others, 
according  to  the  statement  of  Celsus,  had  done  so  Hkewise. 
He  appeared  openly  as  a  preacher,  but  went  about  in  a  mean 
manner,  wandering  from  place  to  place  as  a  beggar,  accom- 
panied by  ten  or  eleven  base  publicans  and  sailors,  or  boat- 
men. So  far  from  acting  like  a  god  (in  the  estimation  of  a 
worshipper  of  pagan  deities),  he  did  not  exercise  any  author- 
ity, and,  unable  even  to  persuade  men,  he  feebly  warned  and 
exhorted  them.  His  very  disciples  deserted  him  ;  he  was 
denied  by  one  and  betrayed  by  another.  He  suffered  him- 
self to  be  ignominiously  taken,  and  bound,  and  scourged.  He 
was  condemned  by  a  judge,  and  persecuted  by  the  Jews.  He 
was  crowned  with  thorns,  a  reed  was  put  in  his  hand,  and 
he  was  arrayed  in  a  scarlet  robe.  When  he  was  led  away 
to  punishment,  gall  was  given  him.  He  was  shamefully 
treated  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  world,  and  crucified.  But 
to  the  last  he  showed  no  sign  of  Divine  power  by  destroying 
his  enemies,  nor  did  he  take  any  vengeance  upon  them  for 
all  their  insults  and  cruelties.  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  a 
miserable  man,  and  suffered  till  he  died,  as  incapable  of  sa- 
ving himself;  nor  was  he  delivered  in  his  last  extremity  by 
God,  whom  he  had  called  his  Father. 

Celsus,  falling  into  the  infatuation  common  to  his  tribe,  by 
labouring  in  this  the  only  method  to  which  he  could  then 
betake  himself  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  not  the  Son  of  God, 
has  done  all  that  a  heathen  could  to  supply  the  data  for  an 
opposite  demonstration  ;  and  it  is  chiefly  because  of  this  that, 
more  than  may  seem  meet,  we  have  rested  so  long  on  his 
testimony.  Though  by  averring  that  Jesus  had  learned  ma- 
gic in  Egypt,  he  might,  in  times  of  darkness  to  which  his  own 
mind  was  superior,  evade  the  argument  from  miracles ;  yet 
he  derided  the  idea,  and  utterly  denied  the  fact  of  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Jewish  prophets;  and  holding  them  as  far  infe- 
rior to  the  heathen  oracles,  it  was  not  without  scorn  and  in- 
dignation that  he  repelled  the  allegation  of  Christians  that 
they  had  testified  of  Jesus.  And,  as  a  witness  is  questioned 
in  a  court  of  law,  we  have  his  own  words,  could  the  words 
of  such  a  man  be  needed,  to  show  how  completely  on  this 
point,  as  on  others,  he  is  "  purged  of  all  partial  counsel"  on 
behalf  of  the  cause  which  his  testimony,  so  perversely  to  his 
principles,  goes  so  directly  to  maintain. 

"The  Pythian,"  exclaimed  the  indignant  reasoner,  "the 
Dodonaean,  the  Clarian,  the  Branchidian.  the  Ammonian  or- 
acles, and  many  others,  by  whose  directions  colonies  have 
been  successfully  planted  all  over  the  world,  must  pass  for 
nothing ;  but  the  obscure  Jewish  predictions,  said  or  not  said, 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  237 

the  like  to  which  are  still  practised  in  Phoenicia  and  Pales- 
tine, are  thought  to  be  wonderful  and  immutably  certain."* 

Error  vanishes  as  truth  is  seen,  even  as  the  light  succeeds 
to  the  darkness  which  it  dispels.  Those  oracles  which  of 
old  overshadowed  the  world,  are  now  known  but  in  name,  as 
having  once  existed  to  the  delusion  of  mankind.  But  the  burn- 
ing bush,  which  was  first  lighted  up  in  the  desert  by  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord  before  his  servant  Moses,  is  not  yet  con- 
sumed ;  and  having  cast  its  light  to  distant  ages,  its  brilliancy 
is  seen  more  resplendent  than  ever;  and  by  its  light  we  can 
look  on  the  ruins  of  those  cities  from  which  the  earliest  col- 
onies went  forth.  And  now,  when  we  read  how,  as  in  the 
preceding  paragraph,  the  lively  oracles  of  the  living  God 
were  contemptuously  contrasted  with  those  of  the  heathens, 
we  see  that  the  irony  against  the  word  of  the  Lord  by  the 
prophets  is  turned  into  truth.  For  we  know  that  the  Pyth- 
ian oracle,  and  all  oracles  besides,  named  or  unnamed,  must 
pass  for  nothing,  and  that  the  Jewish  predictions  are  won- 
derful and  immutably  certain.  And  as  one  unbeliever  has 
given  us  proof  that  such  is  the  fact — even,  we  repeat  it,  im- 
mutably certain — were  it  not  that  we  have  still  better  wit- 
ness to  be  preferred  before  him  in  those  disciples  of  Jesus 
whom  he  denominated  abjects,  we  would  seek  nothing  more 
conclusive  than  the  argimients  of  another  to  show  that  these 
prophets,  compared  to  whom  all  others  must  pass  for  nothing, 
testified  of  Jesus,  and  that  he  is  the  Christ,  for  the  very  rea- 
sons which  Celsus  so  vehemently,  and  indecorously,  and 
blindly  urged  to  prove  that  he  was  not  the  Son  of  God. 

"  Oh  that  mine  adversary  had  written  a  book,  exclaimed 
the  patient  Job,  surely  I  would  take  it  upon  my  shoulder,  and 
bind  it  as  a  crown  to  me."f  And  so  precious  to  the  Chris- 
tian is  the  first  book  that  was  written  against  his  faith,  scarce- 
ly yielding  in  importance  or  value  to  that  of  any  other  of  the 
adversaries  of  our  faith,  precious,  however  pernicious  for 
the  time,  as  these  also  have  often  proved  to  be. 

The  value  of  the  arguments  and  objections  of  Celsus,  in 
proving  the  antiquity  and  genuineness  of  the  gospels,  could 
not  easily  be  overrated.  "  It  appears  here  with  an  uncon- 
tested evidence,"  to  use  the  words  of  Leland,  "by  the  tes- 
timony of  one  of  the  most  malicious  and  virulent  adversa- 
ries the  Christian  religion  ever  had,  and  who  was  also  a  man 
of  considerable  parts  and  learning,  that  the  writings  of  the 
evangelists  were  extant  in  his  time,  which  was  in  the  next 
century  to  that  in  wliich  the  apostles  lived  ;  and  that  those 
accounts  were  written  by  Christ's  own  disciples,  and,  conse- 
quently, that  they  were  written  in  the  very  age  in  which  the 
facts  there  related  were  done,  and  when,  therefore,  it  would 

*  Lard,  vii.,  250.  f  Job  xxxi,,  35,  36. 


238  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

have  been  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to  have  convicted 
them  of  falsehood  if  they  had  not  been  true."  And,  finally, 
to  adopt  also  the  words  of  Lardner,  "  We  have  in  Celsus,  in 
a  manner,  the  whole  history  of  Jesus,  as  recorded  in  the 
gospels.  For  we  have  traced  in  hitti  the  history  of  our  Lord's 
birth,  life,  preaching,  miracles,  death,  and  resurrection,  all  as 
taken  by  him  from  the  writings  of  Christ's  own  disciples. 
We  have  seen  many  testimonies  to  the  antiquity  and  genu- 
ineness of  our  Scriptures.  It  was  quite  beside  the  intention 
of  the  author  that  we  should  derive  any  advantage  from  his 
work,  so  that  we  may  here  apply  the  words  of  Samson's  rid- 
dle or  enigma,  out  of  the  eater,  or  devourer,  came  meat,  and 
out  of  the  strong,  or  fierce,  came  sweetness."* 

The  solution,  as  the  origin  of  the  riddle,  in  the  first  m- 
stance,  was,  that  Samson,  having  turned  aside  to  see  the  car- 
cass of  a  lion,  found  in  it  honey,  which  he  took  and  ate. 
More  loathsome  of  themselves  than  a  putrid  carcass  are 
many  abominable  things,  engendered  by  the  corruption  of  the 
heart,  which,  from  the  beginning,  have  been  uttered  and  writ- 
ten against  that  faith  which  alone  can  quicken  those  that  are 
dead  in  trespasses  and  sins.  But  we  may  take  of  the  honey 
without  being  tainted  by  the  carcass;  and  we  have  found 
food  out  of  the  devourer,  and  sweetness  out  of  the  strong,  to 
strengthen  and  refresh  us  in  our  progress,  without  turning 
aside  from  our  path.  Celsus  was  as  a  roaring  lion  in  his 
day,  as  beseemed  his  calling.  He  boasted  loudly,  as  if  Chris- 
tianity should  have  perished  by  his  efforts,  and  as  if  he  should 
thus  have  been  the  last,  as  he  is  the  first,  in  order  of  anti- 
Christian  authors.  But  long  before  his  time  it  had  been 
written  in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  '•  out  of  the  mouths 
of  babes  and  sucklings  hast  thou  ordained  strength,  because 
of  thine  enemies,  that  thou  mightst  still  the  enemy  and  the 
avenger."  Ps.  viii.,  2.  And  now,  when  pagan  oracles  have 
passed  into  oblivion,  and  when  the  books  of  the  Jewish  proph- 
ets and  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  are  every  day  held  in 
the  feeble  hands  of  thousands  and  thousands  of  little  chil- 
dren, strength  is  ordained  to  them  to  overmaster  the  ene- 
mies of  our  faith  ;  and  there  is  not  one  among  them,  if  well 
versant  in  the  Scriptures,  who,  from  the  facts  on  which  the 
arguments  and  objections  of  the  first  great  opponent  of  Chris- 
tianity are  founded,  may  not  give  a  reason  of  his  hope  from 
the  sufferings  of  Jesus,  and  a  reason  of  his  faith  from  the 
writings  of  the  prophets,  and  in  proof  of  a  better  strength  than 
ever  rested  in  an  arm  of  flesh,  still  the  enemy  and  the  aven- 
ger, even  by  the  words  which  he  hath  spoken.  It  needs  not 
a  Samson  to  approach  the  dead  lion ;  and  out  of  the  carcass, 
where  it  could  little  have  been  looked  for,  a  child  may  now 

*  Vol.  vii.,  p.  268. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    CELSUS.  239 

take  the  honey  and  eat ;  and  while  he  finds  it  safely  pre- 
served in  the  remains  of  an  enemy,  may  relish  the  more  the 
proof  of  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  and  of  the  genuineness  of 
the  Gospels,  which,  like  the  law  of  the  Lord,  are,  to  all  who 
delight  in  them,  sweeter  than  honey  or  the  honeycomb. 

Having  entered  thus  largely  on  the  testimony  of  Celsus, 
as  directly  given  or  as  drawn  from  his  arguments  against 
Christianity,  it  is  less  requisite  to  enlarge  on  that  of  those 
who,  during  the  first  centuries  of  our  era,  imitated  his  ex- 
ample, and  thus  added  at  once  to  the  number  of  the  adver- 
saries of  the  gospel,  and  of  the  witnesses  on  its  behalf. 
Though  wise  in  their  own  eyes  and  in  the  estimation  of  the 
world,  little  did  they  wot  that  they  were  striving  against  him 
of  whose  power  the  words  of  the  king  in  the  parable,  who 
says  of  all  who  opposed  him  and  who  would  not  have  him 
to  reign  over  them,  were  truly  a  symbol,  of  the  significancy 
of  which  they  would  be  examples,  "  Where  are  these  mine 
enemies  1  bring  them  forth  and  slay  them  before  me."  Hu- 
man wisdom,  with  tokens  of  their  right,  they  claimed  as 
their  own.  Human  power  was  on  their  side,  as  much  blood 
of  the  Christians  testified.  But  there  was  a  moral  power 
which  they  could  not  resist  or  withstand  :  and  Christianity 
prevailed,  though  the  wisdom  of  the  wise  and  the  power  of 
the  highest  upon  the  earth  were  combined  against  it,  and 
eventually  united  in  the  same  person  (Julian).  And  re-echo- 
ing the  words  of  the  author  of  our  faith,  and  trusting  in  the 
strength  of  the  cause  which  is  his,  and  which  he  ever  will 
maintain  as  his'^own,  we  may  fearlessly  ask.  Where  are 
these  our  enemies  1  They  may  be  brought  to  the  trial,  that 
we  may  see  whether,  pursuing  the  course,  they  also  share 
the  fate  of  their  predecessor  and  pattern,  who  first  dared  to 
take  the  words  of  the  gospel  as  the  weapons  of  his  infidel 
warfare. 


SECTION  II. 

Many  adversaries,  indeed,  rose  up  against  the  Christians, 
who  manifested  their  hostility  by  acts  of  violence  :  and  there 
is  no  want  of  testimony  to  the  hatred  in  which  they  were 
held,  to  the  obloquy  with  which  they  were  treated,  to  the 
sufferings  which  they  endured,  or  to  the  patience,  termed 
obstinacy,  with  which,  as  beseemed  Christians,  they  did  bear 
all  things.  But  while  kings  and  rulers  took  counsel  against 
them,' and  the  lawless  outrages  of  the  mob  needed  to  be  re- 
strained, and  satirists  and  moralists  sneered  at  their  princi- 
ples, even  when  they  could  not  withhold  assent  to  their  vir- 
tues, few  took  up  the  more  perilous  task  of  meeting  them  on 


240  APPROPRIATION    OF  THE 

the  fair  field  of  argument,  open  as  it  then  was  to  all  but 
Christians  alone.  And,  though  persecution  followed  on  per- 
secution, about  a  century  elapsed  till  another  celebrated 
champion,  like  Celsus,  and  one  more  able  than  he,  took  up 
the  controversy  anew,  and  made'anoiher  stand  for  estabUsh- 
ed  error  against  conflicting  truth. 

Though  the  earliest,  as  well  as  some  of  the  latest,  of  our 
opponents  give  us  proofs  such  as  we  would  desire,  and  though 
we  have  no  reason  to  rejoice  for  the  truth's  sake  that  their 
number  is  so  few,  yet  it  would  seem  to  be  a  strange  argu- 
ment against  the  veracity  of  any  book  that  the  statements 
which  it  contains — especially  if  so  notorious  that  their  truth 
might  easily  have  been  searched  out,  and  so  influential  as 
to  "  turn  the  world  upside  down" — had  been  seldom  contro- 
verted, at  a  lime  when,  if  untrue,  they  could  most  easily  have 
been  disproved  ;  or  that  its  genuineness  should  be  denied, 
for  the  reason  that  it  never  once  was  then  challenged.  It 
might  here  behoove  our  adversaries  to  bring  forth  their  wit- 
nesses to  testify  against  us  if  they  could  ;  and  it  were  no 
less  unjust  now  to  demand  of  Christians  a  host  of  witnesses 
against  them  in  the  early  ages,  who  are  not  known  to  have 
ever  existed,  than  it  was  at  that  period  to  torture  believers 
in  order  to  extort  from  them  the  confession  of  crimes  which 
they  never  knew.  Yet  such  is  the  varied  manifestation  of 
the  same  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  that  the 
want  of  testimony  from  among  the  heathen  has,  though  even 
that  be  false,  been  charged  against  us.  And  while  we  here 
look  in  vain  throughout  a  century  for  argumentative  oppo- 
nents, though  not  destitute  of  other  involuntary  witnesses,  a 
word  or  two  may  be  dropped  on  the  subject  of  the  alleged 
scuntiness  of  heathen  testimony. 

Neither  the  number  of  writers  nor  the  facilities  of  author- 
ship were  then  so  great  as  they  are  now;  and  of  the  works 
that  were  written  in  the  first  centuries  of  our  era,  many  have 
been  lost,  and  others,  still  extant,  are  incomplete.  And  among 
those  that  have  come  down  to  us,  it  is  scarcely  reasonable 
to  expect  that  a  historian  treating  on  one  subject  should 
have  written  on  another.  There  were  besides,  at  that  time, 
peculiar  reasons,  as  every  reader  may  well  conceive,  why 
Christianity  was  a  theme  rather  to  be  shunned,  if  in  the  way, 
than  sought  for,  if  out  of  it. 

Christianity  is  now  the  professed  religion  of  the  civilized 
world  ;  and,  however  corrupted,  its  history  has  long  been 
intermmgled  with  that  of  many  nations.  But  it  presented  a 
difi'er(  nt  aspect  in  a  worldly  view,  while  the  kings  of  the 
earth  set  themselves  against  it,  and  while  it  was  slighted  as 
a  novelty,  derided  as  foolishness,  and  branded  by  pagans  as 
impious.  Though  the  heathen  oracles  had  not  become 
dumb,  there  would  have  been  none  to  tell  the  Epicurean  and 


ARGUMENTS    OP    PORPHYRY.  241 

Stoic  philosophers,  but  those  from  whom  they  would  not 
ieurn,  that  the  little  rill,  which  they  had  seen  springing  from 
a  region  that  was  barren  to  their  view,  would  in  future  ages, 
to  ur>e  the  language  of  prophecy,  become  a  *'  great  river, 
whose  streams  make  glad  the  city  of  our  God ;"  and  few  but 
the  faithful  in  Jesus  traced  its  progress,  as  none  but  they 
drank  of  its  living  waters.  It  pertained  to  unbelievers  onl}- 
to  mark  its  course,  and,  if  they  could,  to  check  its  current; 
and  to  the  one  they  were  as  little  inclined  as  they  were  un- 
able to  execute  the  other.  Christianity  was  hateful,  if  not 
despicable,  in  their  view  ;  and  as  it  did  not  possess  attrac- 
tions for  the  children  of  this  world,  their  fears  alone  induced 
them  to  regard  or  aroused  them  to  resist  it.  The  progress 
of  the  gospel  thi  ;ughoui  the  world  was  not  a  choice  theme 
for  those  who  loved  to  trace  the  march  of  earthly  conquer- 
ors, or  to  celebrate  the  praises  of  the  gods  of  the  heathens 
One  historian,  lauding  his  office,  might  question  whethej  the 
man  who  wrote  of  noble  deeds,  or  the  man  who  achieved 
them,  was  the  more  illustrious ;  and  another  might  boast  of 
his  service  ,to  the  commonwealth  by  writing  the  history  of 
his  country,  and  perpetuating  the  glory  of  the  Roman  name. 
But  while  Greece  retained  its  speculation,  and  the  imperial 
city  had  not  been  cured  of  its  pride,  what  unconverted  Gen- 
tile, aspiring  to  the  office  of  historian,  vould  have  taken  up 
the  task  of  recording  the  acts  of  the  hated  Christians,  or  of 
detailing  the  progress  of  that  new  religion,  which  the  prince 
of  historians  had  stigmatized  as  a  detestable  superstition  1 
Christianity  is  so  little  beholden  to  the  wisdom  or  the  power 
of  man  for  its  primary  success,  that,  as  in  the  case  of  Epic- 
telus,  heathen  authors  would  seem  to  have  sometimes  pur- 
posely withheld  any  allusion  to  facts,  of  which  we  know 
that  they  could  not  have  been  ignorant,  as  if,  on  their  part, 
the  mere  notice  of  the  gospel  would  have  been  an  act  of 
condescension,  and  the  very  name  of  Christians  more  than 
they  would  mention.  The  silence  of  those  who,  notwith- 
standing, gave  ample  manifestation  of  a  hostile  spirit  to- 
wards the  cause  of  Jesus,  instead  of  being  derogatory  to 
Christianity  or  militating  against  its  truth,  may,  with  some- 
what greater  propriety  and  reason,  be  construed  into  an  ad- 
mission thHt  they  had  nothing  to  say  against  it ;  ior  assu- 
redly, if  they  had,  such  a  strange  mattei  of  complaint  would 
never  have  existed. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  there  were  some  or  any  of  the 
heathen  writers  who,  in  the  pure  love  of  historical  truth, 
would,  if  they  had  ventured  to  touch  on  such  a  theme,  have 
given  a  fair  representation  of  Christianity  and  of  its  prog- 
ress, there  were  other  reasons  for  their  silence  not  less  in- 
fluential. From  them,  if  such  existed,  it  were  vain  to  look 
for  an  approval  of  Christian  principles ;  for  whenever  the 
X 


242  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

learned  adopted  these,  they  were  transformed  into  the  order 
of  Christian  writers,  at  a  time  wlieu  to  write  in  behalf  of 
Christianity  was  to  be  ready  for  the  stake ;  and,  instead  of 
their  testimony  being  thereby  enfeebled,  it  was  snrely  en- 
hanced as  greatly  as  their  sincerity  was  tried  by  martyrdom. 
But  all  who  looked  not  for  such  a  crown,  but  for  fading  lau- 
rels ill  its  stead,  were  sparing  of  their  words  as  they  were 
careful  of  their  life ;  and  testimony  to  Christianity  could  not 
then  be  looked  for  but  from  those  who  were  willing  to  lay 
down  their  lives  for  its  sake.  Now  that  imperial  edicts  are 
at  best  bill  mteresting  and  useful  documents,  and  when  the 
cry  of  the  "  Christians  to  the  lions"  has  ceased,  and  no  howl- 
ing for  its  prey  is  heard  from  a  wild  beast,  nor  is  there  any 
pile  to  ascend,  nor  a  red-hot  iron  chair  on  which  to  sit,  it  is 
easy  to  say  that  such  a  one  should  have  written  this  or  that 
concerning  Christianity ;  but  it  was  not  so  safe  or  easy  then, 
when  any  direct  testimony  corroborative  of  the  faith  of  Je- 
sus was  watched  with  jealousy,  and  might  at  any  moment 
have  met  with  death,  in  its  most  appalling  forms.  If  history 
has  had  its  martyrs,  they  have  been  slain  with  the  pen :  but 
one  needed  to  be  a  believer  as  well  as  a  historian  to  take  up 
the  defence  of  a  cause  so  persecuted,  and  to  brave  the  ter- 
rors of  Christian  martyrdom,  or  even  to  risk  the  possible  im- 
putation of  so  dangerous  a  name. 

"  After  all,"  to  use  the  words  of  Dr.  Lardner,  "  we  have 
seen  a  goodly  catalogue  of  heathen  writers  in  the  first  and 
second  century,  men  of  great  eminence  for  their  wit  and 
learning,  their  high  stations  and  credit  in  the  world,  who 
have,  in  their  way,  borne  testimony  to  Jesus  Christ  and  the 
things  concerning  him,  and  to  the  Christians,  his  disciples 
and  followers,  their  numbers,  their  principles,  their  manners, 
and  their  fortitude  and  patience  under  heavy  sufferings,  and  a 
great  variety  of  difficulties  and  discouragements  which  they 
met  with  for  the  profession  of  what  they  were  persuaded 
to  be  the  truth.  And  Celsus,  who  in  this  period  wrote  against 
the  Christians,  has  borne  a  large  testimony  to  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament  and  to  the  history  of  our  Saviour."* 

The  testimony  of  heathen  writers,  if  not  superabundant, 
is  sufficient;  that  of  Christians  is  ample  and  uninterrupted  : 
and  the  utmost,  we  think,  that,  in  the  conclusion  of  this  to- 
pic, our  enemies  could  demand,  is  to  show  tha!;,  besides  Cel- 
sus, tliere  were  other  watchful  and  quicksighted  foes  as  any 
among  them,  willing,  ready,  and  able  to  detect  and  expose 
any  such  duplicity,  if  such  had  been  practised  by  the  disciples 
or  followers  of  Jesus.  Such  men,  rising  one  affer  another, 
well  fitted  for  such  an  office,  and  bent  with  all  their  souls 
on  executing  it,  were  Celsus,  Porph3>ry,  Hierocles,  and  JuUan. 

*  Lardner's  Credibility,  vol.  vii.,  p  307. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    PORPHYRY.  243 

Unable  to  assail  Christianity  by  facts,  they  attempted  to  over- 
throw it  by  arguments.  And  from  what  we  clearly  know 
of  them,  though  n  great  part  of  their  labours  has  perished, 
we  may  at  least  leave  it  to  their  subtilty  and  enmity  to  show 
that,  if  there  had  been  any  deception,  they  were  the  men  to 
detect  it ;  and  that,  if  the  origin  of  Christianity,  as  detailed  in 
the  New  Testament,  had  not  been  undoubted  and  unimpeach- 
able, they,  of  all  in  the  world,  were  not  the  men  to  have  ac- 
knowledged it. 

Porphyry,  a  learned  heathen,  who  was  the  author  of  nu- 
merous works,  wrote  a  large  treatise  in  fifteen  books  against 
the  Christians,  only  some  fragments  of  which  remain.  It 
was  for  a  long  time  in  high  repute  among  the  Gentiles,  and, 
exclusive  of  works  that  remain,  in  which  his  arguments  are 
quoted  in  order  to  their  refutation,  several  books  were  writ- 
ten in  answer  to  it,  which  are  now  lost.  Occasional  refer- 
ences to  Christianity,  breathing  the  same  hostile  spirit,  are 
to  be  found  in  those  of  his  works  which  are  still  extant. 
And  his  arguments  are  repeatedly  referred  to  by  different 
subsequent  writers.  He  was  the  ablest  and  one  of  the  most 
inveterate  enemies  of  Christianity,  and  the  terms  "  the  im- 
pious" or  "  blasphemous"  were  generally  prefixed  by  Chris- 
tian writers  to  his  name.  It  is  admitted  not  only  that  hea- 
thens were  confirmed  in  their  hostility  to  the  gospel,  but  that 
the  faith  of  many  Christians  was  shaken  by  his  writings. 
Subtle  as  he  was  in  argument,  and  skilled  in  historical  learn- 
ing, it  was  no  easy  matter  at  that  time  to  detect  his  sophistry, 
or  to  expose  the  fallacy  of  arguments  with  which  Christians 
have  had  to  grapple  anew  in  modern  times. 

Denying  the  inspiration  of  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  combating  the  evidence  which  Christians  drew 
from  them,  especially  from  the  prophecies  of  Daniel,  which 
speak  so  explicitly  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  he  found 
no  other  subterfuge  but  to  deny  the  genuineness  of  the  book 
of  Daniel :  and  he  set  himself  with  all  his  art  to  show  that 
it  was  not  written  by  its  professed  author,  but  at  a  period 
long  subsequent  to  his  time.  With  such  abihty  did  he  assail 
its  genuineness,  and  with  such  subtlety  did  he  search  out 
every  semblance  of  a  reason  to  overthrow  it,  that  not  only 
did  one  voluminous  answer  succeed  to  another  in  the  early 
ages,  but  the  attention  of  Christians  has  been  kept  alive,  age 
after  age,  to  the  objections  which  he  raised,  and* which  infi- 
dels in  the  last  century  renewed.  Though,  if  his  wilful  ig- 
norance be  not  impeached,  the  candour  of  Porphyry  must  be 
left  without  defence,  because  he  sought  to  identify  the  his- 
tory of  Susannah,  which  never  had  a  place  in  the  .Jewish 
canon,'  with  the  book  of  Daniel,  in  order  that,  thus  attacked, 
they  might  fall  together,  as  falsely  bearing  the  name  of  that 
prophet ;  and  vet  his  clear  detection  of  the  spuriousness  of 


244  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

the  apocryphal  production,  from  a  few  Greek  words  or  deri- 
vations which  showed  that  it  was  the  composition  of  a  later 
age,  gives  ample  proof  of  his  quicksighted  discernment,  and 
that  nothing  was  wanting  on  his  part  to  detect  any  decep- 
tion wherever  it  could  be  found,  and  by  the  use  of  every 
possible  means,  whether  right  or  wrong,  to  strip  the  Chris- 
tian cause  of  any  evidence  which  he  could  attempt  with 
whatever  violence  to  tear  away.  The  warning  which  he  has 
given  ought  not  to  be  lost  on  Christians ;  that  human  com- 
positions should  never  be  associated,  or  joined  as  a  part,  with 
the  sacred  oracles,  and  that  a  wide  distinction  should  be  ever 
made,  and  an  impassable  barrier  ever  stand,  between  the 
word  of  man  and  that  which  has  God  for  its  author.  And 
while  an  act  of  Porphyry  may  thus  instruct  men  in  the 
present  day  that  such  an  example  should  be  shunned  as  sin, 
more  direct  benefit  is  derived  from  his  attack  on  the  book  of 
Daniel,  as  it  is  received  in  its  original  and  uncontaminated 
form  by  Jews  and  by  Protestants.  For  as  that  book  de§ed 
him  to  find  in  it  a  flaw  such  as  he  had  discovered  in  the  spu- 
rious legend,  hq  strove  in  another  manner  to  bring  down  its 
date,  and  laboriously  traced  out  the  extreme  precision  and 
distinctness  with  which  the  history  of  the  kings  of  Syria  and 
Egypt  was  detailed,  down  to  the  days  of  Antiochus  Epipha- 
nes,  inferring  from  hence  that  it  was  drawn  from  the  actual 
facts,  and  written  subsequently  to  their  fulfilment,  and  that, 
down  to  that  period,  the  professed  prophecy  was  a  real  his- 
tory. Thus,  according  to  the  fate  of  the  enemies  of  the 
truth,  were  his  own  feet  taken  in  the  snare  which  he  laid, 
and  the  learning  of  Porphyry  was  applied  to  the  illustration 
of  the  perfect  truth  of  the  prophecy. 

As  to  the  design  to  defraud  Jesus  of  the  testimony  of  the 
prophets  in  the  manner  which  Porphyry  attempted,  it  may 
be  enough  to  say  that  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  has  proved 
to  be  as  strictly  and  literally  true  since  the  days  of  Porphyry, 
as  before  the  days  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes;  and  his  argu- 
ments, which  were  thought  so  available  then,  would  be  totally 
irrelevant  now.  The  prophets  were  not  the  copyists  of  his- 
torians ;  but  historians,  from  the  days  of  Herodotus  down- 
ward, have  necessarily  and  unconsciously  been  the  copyists 
of  the  prophets ;  and  in  nothing  have  the  prophecies  been 
more  clearly  read  anew  than  in  the  discoveries  of  modern 
travellers.  And  were  the  assumptions  of  Porphyry  now  to 
be  maintained,  and  his  mode  of  evading  the  testimony  of  the 
prophets  renewed,  and  his  argument  followed  out,  as  he  la- 
boured hard  and  in  vain  to  make  it  good  nearly  sixteen  cen- 
turies ago,  it  would  need  more  talent  and  effrontery  than  his 
own  to  show  that  the  writings  known  by  the  names  of  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  Daniel,  Ezekiel,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  propn^is, 
were  not  written  by  any  of  those  whose  names  they  bear,  nor 


ARGUMENTS    OF    PORPHYRY.  245 

by  any  Jews  of  old,  nor  by  any  man  long  after  the  days  of 
Porphyry;  but  are  mere  emanations  of  yesterday,  copiei 
partly  from  Gibbon  and  Volney,  and  only  dreamed  of  as  exist- 
ing before  the  present  century,  since  the  beginning  of  which 
many  of  the  facts  have  been  discovered  which  they  professed 
to  foretel. 

However  great  would  be  the  hardihood,  or  however  gross 
the  ignorance,  which  gainsayers  would  display  by  reasoning 
in  the  present  day  against  the  inspiration  of  the  scHptures 
after  the  manner  of  Porphyry,  yet  no  task  can  be  easier  than 
to  draw  a  plain  inference  from  his  attempt  to  disprove  the 
genuineness  of  the  book  of  Daniel,  and  his  arguing  on  the 
assumed  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  It 
is  certain  that  he  searched  them  carefully.  He  sought,  from 
the  various  reading  of  a  verse  or  of  a  word,  to  detect ^ny  in- 
consistency or  error.  He  accused  the  evangelists  of  magni- 
fying the  miracle  of  Jesus  walking  on  the  waters,  by  having 
called  the  Lake  of  Genesareth  a  sea  (which  was  merely  a  He- 
brew mode  of  expression,  and  was  the  language  of  Judea, 
though  not  of  Italy).  He  accused  the  apostles  of  abusing  the 
simplicity  and  ignorance  of  their  hearers ;  and  this  judge  o^" 
those  who  shall  be  the  judges  of  Israel,  censured  Peter  be- 
cause he  imprecated  death  on  Ananias  and  Sapphira ;  and  he 
also  censured  Paul  because  he  withstood  Peter;  and  from 
hence  he  would  infer  that  ihey  acted  on  different  principles 
and  taught  a  different  doctrine ;  seeking  thereby  to  overthrow 
the  faith  of  those  who  rested  on  the  foundation  of  the  apos- 
tles as  well  as  of  the  prophets.  But  while  he  thus  sought  to 
disparage  the  New  Testament,  and  to  cast  a  stigma  on  the 
first  teachers  of  the  gospel,  and,  in  the  words  of  those  who 
defended  it,  "  poured  out  many  blasphemous  words  upon  texts 
of  scripture,"  it  is  obvious,  from  the  very  adoption  of  such  a 
mode  of  attack,  that  the  weapon  which  he  had  so  successfully 
used  against  an  apocryphal  writing  was  wholly  powerless 
against  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  and  could  not,  in  the  days  of  Por- 
phyry, be  lifted  up  against  it.  He  could  prove  that  the  history 
of  Susannah  was  not  written  by  Daniel,  as  is  falsely  pretend- 
ed. But  he  could  not  attempt  to  prove  that  the  writings  of 
the  New  Testament  were  not  written  by  the  disciples  of  Je- 
sus. He  took  the  words  of  the  author  of  the  Christian  faith, . 
as  Celsus  had  done  a  century  before  him,  as  they  are  record- 
ed in  the  Gospels;  and  the  New  Testament,  as  forming  the 
Christian  writings,  was  the  object  of  his  attack ;  and  every 
argument  which  he  drew  from  them  was  an  implied  admis- 
sion or  acknowledgment  of  their  genuineness ;  for  he  could 
not  charge  against  the  evangelists  and  apostles  any  word  or 
writing  that  lay  under  any  suspicion  of  having  been  written 
by  others.  If  he  could  have  adduced  such  a  charge,  we  may 
be  sure  that  he  would  not  have  withheld  it.  A  hundred  and 
X  2 


246  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

forty  years  had  scarcely  elapsed  from  the  time  that  the  last 
of  the  Gospels  was  written,  or  the  canon  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment completed,  till  the  hirth  of  Porphyry.  And  if  aught, 
at  tiiat  early  period  in  which  he  lived,  conld  have  been  found 
to  militate  even  in  appearance  against  their  gennineness — 
even  the  form  of  an  expression  or  the  derivation  of  a  word — 
which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  turn  to  account,  he  would 
have  sought  it  out,  and  triumphed  in  the  use  of  it,  if  he  could 
thereby  have  been  borne  out  in  the  semblance  of  a  plausible 
proof  that  any  portion  of  the  scriptures  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  not  written  by  the  man  whose  name  it  bore,  or  if 
it  had  not  come  directly  to  the  Christians  from  the  hands 
of  a  disciple  or  an  apostle  of  Jesus.  Had  it  been  possible  for 
him  even  to  bring  forward  such  a  charge,  he  would  not  have 
needed  to  have  gone  back  to  the  days  of  Antioclius  Epiphanes, 
nor  to  have  expended  his  labour  in  the  incongruous  oHices  of 
expounding  the  book  of  Daniel,  and  exposing  tlie  spurious- 
ness  of  the  history  of  Susannah.  And  if  he  could  have  sub- 
stantiated it,  the  task  which  he  undertook  would  have  been 
executed  to  infinitely  better  purpose  by  one  plain  argument, 
which  would  have  superseded  the  necessity  of  all  his  labours ; 
and  the  means  of  accomplishing  it,  if  such  had  existed,  must 
have  been  then  within  his  reach  and  comparatively  at  hand. 
It  is  not  to  be  credited  that  he  would  have  drawn  his  reason- 
ings from  the  Scriptures,  or  from  the  facts  on  which  Chris- 
tianity is  founded,  if  he  could  either  have  disproved  their 
genuineness  or  denied  the  facts.  Had  he  even  attempted  thus 
to  impugn  the  Christian  writings,  the  attack  and  the  defence 
of  the  Book  of  Daniel  would  ahke  have  been  unheard  of  till 
the  gospel  had  been  here  cleared  of  every  shadow  of  impu- 
tation against  it. 

As  it  is  now  easy  for  men  to  say  what,  according  to  their 
fancy,  heathen  historians  should  have  related  concerning 
Christianity  at  a  time  when,  if  they  had  reported  facts  with 
faithfulness,  the  act  might  have  been  the  warrant  for  their 
execution ;  so  it  is  easy  for  skeptics  in  modern  times  to  deny 
the  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament,  and  to  assert,  in 
hopes  of  being  believed  by  those  who  know  nothing  of  the 
matter,  that  it  was  not  known  or  recognised  as  the  rule  of 
Christian  faith  till  the  fourth,  or,  if  they  choose  with  equal 
truth  to  affirm,  till  the  fourteenth  century;  but  it  was  not  so 
safe  or  so  easy  to  hazard  such  an  assertion  in  the  second 
century,  when  Celsus  sought  to  confute  Christians  from  their 
scriptures,  nor  in  the  third,  when  Porphyry  followed  his 
example.  But  while  the  traditions,  handed  down  from  the 
apostles  were  yet  new  and  universal ;  while  the  scriptures 
were  read  publicly  in  the  assemblies  of  believers,  and  the 
original  writings,  each  of  which  had  been  committed  to  a 
body  of  men  constituting  a  church,  and  had  been  transcribed 


ARGUMENTS    OF    PORPHYRY.  247 

and  transmitted  to  all  the  churches,  and  which  were  carried 
about  by  the  preachers  of  the  gospel,  were  appealed  to,  even 
as  they  now  are.  in  the  works  of  every  Christian  author; 
and  while  the  disciples  of  .lesus,  forming  a  vast  multitude, 
were  everywliere  ready  to  testily  of  their  faith  in  them  to 
the  death,  and  many  vvere  actually  giving  up  their  lives  in 
testimony  of  the  truth  which  they  contained,  a  Dioclesian 
might  command  the  scriptures  to  be  burned,  but  their  genu- 
ineness was  not  to  be  denied  by  as  bitter  and  as  able  ene- 
mies of  our  faith  as  ever  lived. 

It  may  be  meet  that  we  give  an  example  of  the  reasoning 
of  Porphyry,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  he  founded  it  on 
the  words  of  Jesus,  and  counted  them  as  sucii,  with' all  the 
confidence  witli  which  a  Christian,  for  other  purposes,  would 
now  adduce  them  as  the  words  of  his  Lord  and  Master  : 

"  If  Christ  (as  he  says)  be  the  way  of  salvation,  the  truth, 
and  the  life  (.lohn  xiv.,  fi),  and  they  only  wlio  believe  in  him 
can  be  saved,  wiiat  became  of  the  men  who  lived  before 
his  coming  V  "  How  came  it  to  pass  that  the  gracious  and 
merciful  God  should  sutler  all  nations,  from  Adam  to  Moses 
and  from  Moses  to  the  coming  of  Clirist,  to  perish  through 
ignorance  of  his  laws  and  commands  ?  forasmuch  as  nei- 
ther Britain,  fruitful  of  tyrants,  nor  the  Scottish  nation,  nor 
the  barbarous  people  all  around,  were  acquainted  with  Mo- 
ses and  the  prophets.  What  necessitj^,  therefore,  was  there 
that  f[e  sliould  come  in  the  end  of  the  world,  and  not  till 
after  an  innum.erable  multitude  of  men  had  perished  V* 

We  wish  not  to  state  objections,  even  while  adduced  as 
proofs,  without  some  slight  hint  at  an  answer,  though  we 
should  thereby  be  drawn  aside  from  the  straight  course,  and 
the  progress  of  our  argument  be  seemingly  suspended.  And 
for  the  honour  of  our  faith,  and  in  the  name  of  our  country 
(though  far  from  its  shores  as  we  write),  we  may  here,  once 
again,  pause  for  a  moment  to  say  that  the  Scottish  nation  is 
not  numbered  now  among  barbarous  people,  because,  through 
the  blessing  of  God,  Scotland  is  a  land  of  Bibles,  and  that 
book  is  the  rule  of  their  faith,  of  which  infidels  have  ever 
sought  to  deprive  and  to  bereave  them  ;  that  such  in  that 
land,  though  not  straitened  to  it  alone,  but  freely  offered 
unto  all,  and  experienced  in  many  more,  is  the  efficacy  of 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  in  elevating  the  intellect,  even  though 
high  and  vain  imaginations  should  be  cast  down  ;  that  there 
are  thousands  of  her  sons,  so  nurtured  in  the  knowledge  of 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  that,  in 
defence  of  ihe  gospel,  they  would  not  fear  to  cope  with  the 
ablest  heathen  that  ever  assailed  our  faith.  And  there  is 
mafl^  a  Scottish  peasant  who  would  qirestion  the  wisdom  no 

•    *  Lardner,  vol.  vii.,  p.  438,  439. 


248  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

less  than  the  humility  of  the  man  who  turns  the  savour  of 
life  into  the  savour  of  death,  and  rejects  Him  who  is  the 
way,  the  truth,  and  the  life,  for  the  reason  that  God  giveth 
not  account  of  his  matters  unto  him  as  he  might  think  fit  to 
require ;  and  who,  looking  to  scripture,  would  here  have  a 
ready  answer,  that  the  Lord  of  all  the  earth  will  do  right; 
that  the  times  of  ignorance  which  God  winked  at  are  past; 
and  that,  as  they  who  have  sinned  without  law  shall  perish 
without  law,  they  who  have  sinned  in  the  law  shall  be  judged 
by  the  law  ;  and  that,  in  the  righteous  judgments  which  he 
will  execute  upon  all,  it  will  be  more  tolerable  for  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  and  for  the  most  barbarous  people  that  ever 
dwelt  on  earth,  than  for  those  who  bring  upon  themselves 
the  greater  condemnation  of  loving  the  darkness  rather  than 
the  light.  Tlie  very  text  which  our  adversary  quoted,  in 
confutation  of  other  adversaries  now,  would  not  be  given  up 
by  any  who  look  to  Jesus  for  salvation,  when  the  judgment 
Cometh,  for  all  the  famed  philosophy  of  Greece  and  Home, 
in  which  neither  the  way,  the  truth,  nor  the  life  were  to  be 
found.  And  none  can  be  at  a  loss  to  tell  that,  while  his 
words  are  a  witness  against  himself,  they  are  a  witness  also 
for  the  genuineness  of  the  scriptures,  and  that  such  as  we 
now  read  them  were  the  words  of  Jesus,  according  to  the 
tesiimony  of  an  enemy,  and  in  fulfilment  of  the  testimony 
of  the  prophets,  "  Look  unto  me  and  be  ye  saved,  all  the  ends 
of  the  earth.'"  Jesus  came  at  the  appointed  and  predicted 
time,  and  twenty-five  centuries  ago  it  was  said,  The  isles 
shall  wait  for  his  law* 

It  may  be  only  farther  requisite  to  give,  in  the  most  suc- 
cinct form,  a  summary  view  of  the  testimony  drawn  from 
Porphyry,  as  may  best  and  most  explicitly  be  done  in  the 
words  of  Lardner,  from  whose  able  and  decisive  work  we 
have  so  often  quoted. 

"  Porphyry  was  a  man  of  great  abilities.  His  objections 
against  Christianity  were  in  esteem  with  Gentile  people  for 
a  long  while.  His  enmity  to  the  Christians  and  their  prin- 
ciples was  very  great.  Nevertheless,  from  the  remaining 
fragments  of  his  work  against  the  Christians,  and  from  his 
other  writings,  we  may  reap  no  small  benefit.  It  manifestly 
appears  that  he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures  of 
the  Old  and  New  'I'estament ;  for  we  have  had  before  us 
many  of  his  objections  against  the  book  of  Daniel  We 
have  observed  plain  references  to  the  gospels  of  Matthew, 
Mark,  and  John,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  Kpistle 
to  tlie  Galatians  ;  and,  in  his  remarks  upon  tliat  epistle, 
probably  references  to  others  of  St.  Paul's  epistles.  There 
can  be  no  question  made  that,  in  his  work  against  the  Chris- 
tians, many  other  books  of  the  New  Testament  were  quoted 

*  Isaiah  xlv.,  22.     Ibid,  xiii  ,  4.   ^ 


ARGUMENTS    OF    PORPHYRY.  249 

or  referred  to  by  him.  In  a  fragment  of  his  work  against 
the  Christians,  he  has  this  expression  :  '  And  now  people 
wonder  that  this  distemper  has  oppressed  the  city  so  many 
years,  ^Esculapius  and  the  other  gods  no  longer  conversing 
with  men  ;  for  since  Jesus  has.  been  honoured,  none  have 
received  any  benefit  from  the  gods.'  And  in  his  life  of  Plo- 
tinus  he  says  that  there  were  '  many  Christians.'  (Vol.  viii., 
p.  158.)  It  is  well  that,  in  the  remaining  fragment  of  his 
work  against  the  Christians,  we  have  evidences  of  so  many 
references  to  them  as  there  are.  But  it  may  be  remem- 
bered that  Jerome,  who  seems  to  have  had  the  whole  work 
before  him,  said,  '  That  if  because  of  Porphyry's  blasphe- 
mies another  Cephas  must  be  invented,  lest  Peter  should  be 
thought  to  have  erred,  innumerable  passages  must  be  struck 
out  of  the  Divine  Scriptures,  which  he  has  found  fault  with 
because  he  did  not  understand  them.'  The  places  of  scrip- 
ture, therefore,  which  Porphyry  had  remarked  upon,  were 
very  numerous.  Theodoret  observes  that  Porphyry  read 
the  scriptures  very  carefully  when  he  was  composing  his 
work  against  us." 

It  is  not  necessary  that  we  should  know  what  were  the 
innumerable  or  very  numerous  passages  of  scripture  on 
which  Porphyry  animadverted.  It  is  enough  that  he  ani- 
madverted upon  any  in  the  manner  which  he  did,  and  that  we 
have  so  many  examples  of  his  reasonings  out  of  the  scrip- 
tures ;  we  need  nothing  more  to  show  us  the  spirit  and  the 
talent  of  the  man,  and  his  enmity  against  the  Christian  cause. 
A  few  quotations  from  a  book,  and  a  few  arguments  against 
the  doctrines  it  contains,  and  animadversions  against  those 
who  wrote  it,  are  as  good  as  thousands,  to  establish  at  once 
its  antiquity  and  genuineness ;  and  there  could  not  have  been 
a  fitter  person  for  that  purpose  than  the  celebrated  and  re- 
doubted Porphyry.  More  than  this  we  need  not  ask  ;  for  a 
multiplicity  of  such  arguments  would  scarcely  have  increas- 
ed our  proofs.  Many  of  them  are  unknown  ;  but,  while  per- 
fectly fearless  of  them,  though  they  were  innumerable  and 
though  they  existed  still,  we  know  that  every  knee  shall 
bow  to  Jesus,  and  that  "  blasphemies"  against  his  holy  name 
shall  not  be  eternal  upon  earth ;  and  we  cannot  lament  that 
the  fate  which  awaits  them  all  is  already  seen  in  many  of 
those  of  Porphyry  which  have  perished. 

Of  Hierocles,  his  next  successor  in  the  same  office,  with 
the  exception  of  one  of  unknown  name,  whose  work,  though 
large,  is  now  lost,  it  may  suffice  to  show  how  well  he  has 
executed  his  part  in  fulfilling  it  to  sum  up  his  labours  in  two 
or  three  sentences,  made  ready  to  our  hands  by  one  than 
whom,  on  this  subject,  none  was  ever  more  laborious  in  ad- 
ducing testimony,  or  scrupulous  in  scanning  it.* 

*  Lardner's  "Works,  vol.  vii.,  p,  437  ;  vol.  v:ii.,  p.  158. 


250  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

"  About  the  beginning  of  Dioclesian's  persecution,  another 
work  was  written  against  tlie  Christians,  in  two  books,  by 
Hierocles,  a  man  of  learning,  and  a  person  of  authority  and 
influence  as  a  magistrate.  He  was^well  acquainted  with  our 
Scriptures,  and  made  many  objections  against  them,  thereby 
bearing  testimony  to  their  antiquity,  and  to  the  great  respect 
which  was  shown  them  by  the  Christians;  for  he  has  refer- 
red to  both  parts  of  the  New  Testament,  the  Gospels  and  the 
Epistles.  He  mentions  Peter  and  Paul  by  name,  and  casts 
reflections  upon  them.  He  did  not  deny  the  truth  of  our 
Saviour's  miracles;  but  in  order  to  overthrow  the  arguments 
which  the  Christians  formed  from  them  in  proof  of  our  Sav- 
iour's Divine  authority  and  mission,  he  set  up  Apollonius 
Tyanaeus  as  a  rival  or  superior  to  him.  But  it  was  a  vain 
attempt."* 


SECTION  III.^ 

To  add  to  such  conclusive  testimony,  is  only  to  redouble 
proofs.  There  are  superabundant  reasons  to  satisfy  the  full 
demands  of  all  reasonable  men,  and  to  clear  the  subject  of 
all  difficulty  and  doubt  in  the  eyes  of  every  man  who  seeks 
for  knowledge  in  the  love  of  truth.  But  to  pretend  by  argu- 
ments however  strong,  and  facts  however  plain,  to  convince 
those  who  are  hardened  in  unbelief,  and  who  desire  not  the 
knowledge  of  the  ways  of  the  Lord  or  of  the  truth  of  his 
word,  were  to  abandon  all  just  pretensions  to  reason,  and 
daringly  to  assume  the  prerogative  of  the  Spirit.  Skeptics, 
gainsaying  the  verdict  of  our  enemies  in  our  favour,  may  not 
be  satisfied  with  the  testimony  and  the  decision  even  of 
skeptics  like  themselves.  To  the  arguments  of  Celsus,  Por- 
phyry, and  Hierocles,  they  cannot  well  object,  seeing  that 
they  have  been  the  cant  of  their  own  caste  from  generation 
to  generation.  But  the  world,  they  say,  is  grown  wiser  than 
it  was,  and  the  age  of  reason  is  come  at  last.  And  wise  as 
these  men  were,  and  much  as  they  have  profited  by  their 
wisdom,  yet  had  they  lived  in  the  days  of  these  their  fathers, 
at  a  time  when  the  genuineness  of  the  New  Testament  might 
have  been  tried  by  live  tradition  and  by  the  original  writings, 
they  would  have  discovered  some  ground  for  alleging  what, 
unhappily,  they  can  now  only  maintain  without  reason  and 
assert  without  proof.  Wise  as  even  Porphyry  was,  who 
wrote  many  books  and  searched  many  more,  they,  in  their 
own  eyes,  are  wiser  still,  and  they  would  have  discovered 
some  flaw  in  the  record  which  he  could  not  find ;  they,  at 

*  Lardner,  vol.  viii.,  p.  158,  159. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    JULIAN.  251 

the  proper  time  for  finding  it,  would  have  discovered  some- 
thing— neither  they  nor  we  can  tell  what  the  great  discovery 
might  have  been — which  from  Porphyry's  blindness  is  now 
for  ever  lost,  or  they  would  have  filched  out  some  secret 
testimony  from  the  Clri'istians  which  none  else  could  find, 
and  their  wisdom  would  have  achieved  what  the  rack  could 
not  accomplish.  Before  such  modest  assurance,  whether 
avowed  or  implied,  all  the  powers  of  reason  and  of  reason- 
ing must  fail.  But,  even  if  such  assertions  could  be  hstened 
to,  or  if  there  w^ere  one  last  and  little  inlet  for  conviction  to 
their  minds,  a  witness,  if  they  sought  one,  there  is,  accord- 
ing to  their  own  heart,  who  might  wholly  remove  every  re- 
maining scruple,  and  effectually  confirm  the  testimony,  if  not 
previously  complete. 

Julian  the  apostate  is  a  well-known  name.  His  imme- 
diate predecessors  in  the  imperial  throne,  Constantino  the 
Great  and  Constantius,  had  renounced  paganism  and  pro- 
fessed Christianity,  the  faith  from  which  Julian  afterward 
apostatized.  In  his  youth  he  was  trained  up  for  an  office  in 
the  church ;  "  he  was  admitted  to  the  inferior  offices  of  the 
ecclesiastical  order,  and  publicly  read  the  scriptures  in  the 
Church  of  Nicomedia."*  But  the  spirit  of  the  world  pre- 
vailed in  his  mind  over  the  spirit  of  faith.  Grecian  literature 
had  charms  for  him  such  as  he  could  not  find  in  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  gospel.  And  the  young  aspiring  prince,  fas- 
cinated with  the  reputed  and  recorded  deeds  of  gods  and  of 
heroes,  would  not,  though  reading  the  scriptures  to  others, 
be  himself  taught  to  follow  the  meek  and  lowly  Jesus  ;  and, 
reversing  the  choice  of  his  uncle  Constantine,  he  chose  his 
place  at  the  head  of  an  army  rather  than  on  the  bench  of  a 
synod.  But  having  been  initiated  in  the  church  and  trained 
up  in  the  order  of  the  clergy,  the  means  of  investigation  as 
to  the  genuineness  of  the  Scriptures  were  open  to  him  as 
they  could  be  to  any ;  and  as  emperor,  he  held  the  archives 
of  the  empire  in  his  hands  to  which  the  Christian  apologists 
had  repeatedly  appealed.  He  was  gifted,  besides,  with  no 
mean  talents ;  and  from  the  large  number  of  his  writings 
within  a  short  period,  it  is  apparent  that  his  pen  was  that  of 
a  ready  writer.  Surely,  therefore,  in  every  view,  none  was 
bettei-  able  than  he,  if  all  the  ability  of  man  had  not  been 
powerless,  to  take  up  the  controversy  against  the  Christians, 
and  to  vindicate,  if  he  could,  the  honour  of  the  gods  to  whom 
he  was  devoted,  and  his  own  apostacy  which  he  was  zeal- 
ous to  defend.  Having  changed  from  Christianity  to  pagan- 
ism, and  from  being  a  public  reader  of  the  Scriptures  to  be 
still  more  publicly  a  reasoner  against  them,  the  testimony  of 
Julian  may  be  associated,  in  some  degree,  with  that  of  Ju- 

*  Gibbon's  History,  vol.  iv.,  65. 


252  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

das ;  and  the  apostate  may  stand  up  beside  the  traitor  to  tell 
if  there  was  any  secret  among  Christians  concealed  from  the 
world,  and  to  show  whether  either  of  them  can  disclose 
aught  against  the  master  whom  he  betrayed  or  tiie  faith 
which  he  abjured.  Of  all  cases  that  could  possibly  be  put, 
these,  perhaps,  should  in  evidence  be  the  strongest,  since  the 
proof  came  from  their  own  hps  of  the  genuineness  of  the 
gospel,  as  w^ell  as  of  the  innocence  of  Jesus.  It  was  not  for 
the  one  or  for  the  other  of  this  hapless  pair  to  have  con- 
cealed anything  which  they  could  have  disclosed  against  Je- 
sus and  his  cause,  or  to  have  admitted  anything  on  behalf  of 
the  gospel  which  it  was  possible  for  them  to  have  denied. 

Many  edicts,  letters,  and  orations  of  Julian  are  slill  extant, 
in  which  there  are  manifest  and  express  references  to  Chris- 
tians and  their  affairs,  and  repeated  allusions  to  the  Scriptures. 
They  were  not  only  restrained  from  teaching  any  of  the 
branches  of  polite  literature,  but  their  children  were  prohib- 
ited from  attending  the  schools  where  it  vv\s  taught.*  In  a 
letter  to  Hecabolus,  supposed  to  have  been  the  chief  magis- 
trate of  Edessa,  after  the  profession  of  much  clemency  and 
moderation  towards  the  Christians,  it  is  added  and  ordained, 
in  order  to  facilitate  and  aid  their  design  of  entering  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  "  since  they  are  so  commanded  by  their 
most  wonderful  law,"f  that  all  the  money  of  the  church  of 
Edessa  should  be  taken  away  and  given  to  the  soldiers,  and 
that  their  estates  should  be  added  to  the  imperial  dominions,! 
thereby  illustrating  the  prophecy  that  they  should  be  spoiled 
many  days.  On  the  murder  of  George,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
the  emperor  was  not  slack  in  writing  to  the  governor  of 
Egypt  to  seize  on  his  large  and  excellent  library,  and  to  de- 
stroy utterly  all  the  Christian  writings  ;  and  the  treasurer  ol 
Egypt  was  addressed  on  the  same  subject,  after  the  same 
manner.^  In  a  letter  to  the  Alexandrians,  sentence  of  ban- 
ishment was  denounced  on  Athanasius,  the  former  bishop ; 
and  on  their  petition  that  the  order  should  be  recalled,  Julian, 
in  a  second  letter,  appealing  from  their  faith  to  their  pride,  de 
Clares,  by  the  gods,  that  he  was  ashamed  that  any  Alexan- 
drian should  acknowledge  himself  to  be  a  Galilean.  And  re- 
ferring to  one  passage  of  scripture  after  another,  he  accuses 
them  of  not  worshipping  the  gods  whom  Alexander  theii 
founder,  and  the  Ptolemies,  and  other  great  princes  of  Egypt 
had  honoured,  but  Jesus,  whom  their  fathers  never  saw,  and 
whom  they  accounted  God  the  Word.  (John  i.)  He  holds 
forth  before  them  his  own  apostate  example.  But,  if  neglect- 
ing such  patterns,  they  would  "  still  follow  the  instruction 

*  Juliani  Caesares,  Ep.  42.,  p.  422-4  ;  quoted  by  Lardncr,  vol.  vii.,  p.  508. 
639,  640. 

t  Matthew  v.,  3  ;  Luke  vi.,  20  ;  Matthew  xix.,  21. 

\  Ep.  43,  p.  424      Lardner,  ibid.,  p.  641.        •  (j  Ibid.,  p.  642. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    JULIAN.  253 

and  superstition  of  knavish  men,"  there  were  disciples  enough 
of  Athanasius  to  please  their  "itching  ears."  (2  Tim.  iv.,  3.) 
And  as  many,  according  to  the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  were 
instructed  by  the  suffering  teachers,  he  concludes  by  lament- 
ing that  there  were  among  them  a  "multitude  of  such  peo- 
ple" besides  Athanasius  and  his  followers,  and  by  banishing 
him  not  only  out  of  Alexandria,  as  before,  but  out  of  all 
Egypt. 

Other  letters  still  more  threatening  followed ;  and  swear- 
ing by  the  great  Serapis,  declaring,  as  better  suited  to  such 
an  oath  than  to  the  faith  which  he  had  renounced,  that,  though 
backward  to  condemn,  he  was  afterward  more  backward  to 
forgive  ;  and  expressing  his  extreme  concern  that  all  the  gods 
were  despised,  he  sought  no  service  of  the  prasfect  of  Egypt 
like  that  of  expelling  the  wicked  Athanasius,  "  the  enemy  of 
the  gods,"  who  thinned  still  more  the  ranks  of  paganism  by 
converting  Greeks  to  the  Christian  faith.  In  a  letter  to  Ar- 
sacius,  the  (pagan)  high-priest  of  Galatia,  he  attributes  the 
decline  of  paganism  to  the  fault  of  its  professors ;  and,  as  if 
he  had  not  altogether  forgotten  in  practice  some  Christian 
lessons,  he  strives  to  provoke  the  very  priests  of  paganism 
to  good  works  from  the  example  of  the  believers  in  Jesus. 
In  strange  discrepance  between  cause  and  effect,  he  chiefly 
attributes  "  the  augmentation  of  impiety"  to  that  humanity 
to  strangers  and  sanctity  of  life  of  which  Christians  made 
such  a  show.  Forgetful  of  motives  more  effectual  than  im- 
perial mandates,  he  enjoins  that  all  the  priests  of  the  ancient 
religion  should  not  only  be  persuaded,  but  compelled,  to  live 
soberly ;  but  though  they  were  thus  to  take  Christians  for 
their  pattern,  they  were  strictly  to  forbear  from  the  contam- 
ination of  their  conversation  or  company.  Not  to  be  out- 
done by  them  in  liberality,  he  commands  that  hospitals  be 
erected  in  every  city,  and  that  they  should  be  open,  without 
exception,  to  all.  "  For  it  is  a  shame,"  says  he, "  when  there 
are  no  beggars  among  the  Jews,  and  the  impious  Galileans 
relieve  not  only  their  own  people,  but  ours  also,  that  our  poor 
should  be  neglected  by  us,  and  be  left  helpless  and  destitute." 
And  to  the  same  purport,  in  an  oration,  he  accused  the  impi- 
ous Galileans  of  providing  for  the  poor,  whom  their  own 
priests  had  neglected,  a  species  of  humanity  to  which  they 
were  addicted,  thereby  recommending  the  worst  of  things  by 
an  exhibition  of  their  liberality.  "  For  beginning  with  their 
love-feasts  and  '  the  ministry  of  tables,'  as  they  call  it,  Acts 
vi.,  2  (for  not  only  the  name,  but  the  thing  also  is  common 
among  them),  they  have  drawn  away  the  faithful  to  impiety."* 
In  his  Misopogon,  or  satire  upon  the  people  of  Antioch,  he 
states  that  the  noble,  the  wealthy,  and  the  poor ;  the  most,  if 

*  Lardner,  Ep.  43,  645,  646. 
Y 


254  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

lot  the  whole  of  the  city,  were  offended  at  him,  because 
hey  loved  impiety.  For  so  impious  were  they,  that  when 
he  went,  on  a  solemn  day,  to  pay  his  homage  to  the  temple 
of  Apollo,  there  were  none  present,  to  do  honour  to  the  god, 
nor  did  the  great  city  provide  any  beasts  for  the  sacrifice  ;  but, 
neglecting  their  duty  to  the  gods,  they  maintained  the  poor 
with  their  goods,  and  thus  brought  their  impiety  into  esteem..* 

The  apostate  is  thus  constrained  to  do  homage  to  the  hu- 
manity and  liberality  of  Christians.  And  in  his  invectives 
against  Christian  teachers,  who  turned  Greeks  from  idols  to 
the  service  of  the  one  living  and  true  God,  and  in  his  wait- 
ings because  of  the  multitude  of  Christian  converts,  the  de- 
sertion of  heathen  temples,  and  the  want  of  beasts  for  sacri- 
fices to  his  famished  gods,  while  the  poor  of  the  people  were 
abundantly  supplied,  we  read  his  undesigned  testimony  to  the 
fulfilment  of  prophecies  descriptive  of  that  kingdom  of  the 
Messiah  which  idolatry  could  not  withstand,  and  which  the 
Caesars  could  not  overthrow.  I  will  give  thee  for  a  light  of 
the  Gentiles,  to  open  the  blind  eyes,  dfc.  They  shallgo  to  con- 
fusion that  are  makers  of  idols.  The  idols  he  will  utterly  abol- 
ish. The  Lord  will  famish  all  the  gods  of  the  earth  ;  and  men 
shall  worship  him,  dfc.  The  poor  among  men  shall  rejoice  in 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  the  scorner  is  consumed.^ 

They  who  bowed  before  idols  could  blaspheme  the  "  word 
and  ordinances  of  the  living  God,"  but  those  who  refused  to 
offer  sacrifices  would  rather  be  themselves  the  victims.  The 
charge  of  impiety  brought  against  the  Christians,  because 
they  would  not  worship  those  who  were  not  gods,  may,  un- 
happily with  too  much  truth,  be  retorted  against  Julian,  the 
great  scoffer  of  his  day.  The  grace  of  the  gospel,  in  calling 
sinners  to  repentance,  was  as  obnoxious  a  theme  to  him  as 
to  the  prior  antagonists  of  the  gospel ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  won- 
dered at,  that  they  who  rejected  that  grace  from  the  first  as 
to  the  last,  should  also  misrepres^it  and  revile  it.  "  Julian, 
in  his  satire  upon  Constantine,  brings  in  his  son  Constantius, 
in  the  presence  of  his  father,  proclaiming  to  all  in  this  man- 
ner :  '  Whoever  is  a  ravisher,  a  murderer,  guilty  of  sacrilege, 
or  any  other  abomination,  let  him  come  boldly.  For  when 
I  have  washed  him  with  this  water,  I  will  immediately  make 
him  clean  and  innocent :  and  if  he  commits  the  same  crime 
again,  I  will  make  him,  after  he  has  thumped  his  breast  and 
beat  his  head,  as  clean  as  before.'"  The  just  castigation  of 
Julian  by  Dr.  Bentley,  in  reference  to  this  and  similar  mis- 
representations on  the  same  subject,  is  here  worthy  of  a 
place.  "  A  ridiculous  and  stale  banter,  used  by  Celsus  and 
others  before  Julian,  upon  the  Christian  doctrines  of  baptism, 

*  Lardner,  Ep.  43,  p.  648. 

t  Isa.  xlii ,  6.  7 ;  xlv  ,  16  ;  ii.,  18.     Zeph.  ii.,   11.     Isa.  xx.\ix.,  19,  20. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    JULIAN.  255 

and  lepentance,  and  remission  of  sins.  Baptism  is  rallied  as 
'mere  washing,'  and  repentance  as  thumping  the  breast 
and  other  outward  grimace ;  the  inward  grace  and  the  in- 
trinsic change  of  mind  are  left  out  of  the  character.  And 
whom  are  we  to  believe  ?  Those  pagans  or  our  own  selves'? 
Are  we  to  fetch  our  notions  of  the  sacraments  from  scraps 
of  Julian  and  Celsus,  or  from  the  Scripture,  the  pure  foun- 
tain, and  from  what  we  read,  know,  and  profess  ?  And  yet 
the  banter  came  more  decently  out  of  Celsus,  an  Epicurean's 
mouth,  than  out  of  Julian's,  the  most  bigoted  creature  in  the 
world.  He  to  laugh  at  expiation  by  baptism,  whose  vi^hole 
life,  after  his  aposlacy,  was  a  continued  course  of  Kadap/noi, 
washings,  purgations,  expiations,  with  the  most  absurd  cere- 
monies :  addicted  to  the  whole  train  of  superstitious  omens, 
presages,  prodigies,  spectres,  dreams,  visions,  auguries,  ora- 
cles, magic,  theurgic,  psychomantic  :  whose  whole  court,  in  a 
manner,  consisted  of  harcispices,  and  sacrificuli,  and  philoso- 
phers as  silly  as  they :  who  was  always  poring  in  the  en- 
trails of  cattle  to  find  futurities  there  :  who,  if  he  had  re- 
turned victor  out  of  Persia  (as  his  very  pagan  friends  jested 
on  him),  would  have  extinguished  the  whole  species  of  bulls 
and  cows  by  the  number  of  his  sacrifices.  I  have  drawn 
this  character  of  him  from  his  own  writings,  and  the  heathens 
his  contemporaries,  that  I  might  not  bring  suspected  testi- 
monies from  Christian  authors."* 

The  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills  were  not  sufficient  for  a 
burnt-offering  to  cleanse  a  single  stain  of  sin  from  a  single 
soul.  But  he  who  offered  hecatombs  in  vain,  in  his  railings 
against  Christian  baptism  confirms  the  word  of  Isaiah  con- 
cerning Jesus  :  He  shall  sprinkle  mani/  nations.  All  loe  like 
sheep  have  gone  astray.  The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all.  He  poured  out  his  soul  in  death.  He.  bare  the  sin  of 
many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors. 

In  the  same  degree  in  which  Julian  was  devoted  to  super- 
stition, he  set  himself  against  Christianity,  and  wrote  a  long 
and  formal  treatise  on  purpose  of  its  refutation.  ■  And  as 
meekness  is  not  a  virtue  among  the  adversaries  of  the  gos- 
pel, and  would  have  ill  befitted  such  an  emperor  as  Julian,  he 
entered  on  the  task  with  no  less  confidence  than  humbler  as- 
sailants, who  have  put  it  beyond  his  powder  to  surpass  them 
in  that  respect,  and  began  by  heralding  his  success,  in  de- 
claring "  that  he  thought  it  right  to  show  all  men  the  reasons 
by  which  he  had  been  convinced  that  the  religion  of  the  Gali- 
leans is  a  human  contrivance,  badly  put  together,  having  no- 
thing in  it  divine,"  &c.  But  all  his  threatenings  against  the 
Christian  faith  were  as  innocuous  as  his  promise  and  purpose 
w^re  vain  to  re-estabhsh  in  Judea  the  commonwealth  of  Is- 

*  See  Lartlner,  vol.  vii.,  p  636. 


256  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

rael.  He  could  no  more  cast  down  a  single  pillar  of  the 
Christian  faith,  than  he  could  rebuild  the  temple  of  Jerusa- 
lem. And  all  his  labour  serves  to  show  how  surely  its  found- 
ations have  been  laid,  and  that  no  human  power  can  shake 
the  fabric,  which  is  fitly  put  together,  and  is  nothing  else  than 
Divine. 

It  is  chiefly  in  this  treatise  against  Christianity,  which  his 
panegyrists  commended  as  excelling  that  of  Porphyry,  that 
his  enmity  to  the  gospel  is  most  strikingly  displayed,  and  his 
most  decisive  testimony  in  its  favour  is  supplied,  in  a  man- 
ner of  which  he  had  as  little  presage  as  of  the  results  of  his 
Persian  expedition.  Though  his  whole  work  has  not  proved 
immortal,  any  more  than  the  gods  he  worshipped,  many  frag- 
ments of  it  have  been  preserved,  and  have  come  down  for 
our  use  in  the  present  day.  The  book  of  an  emperor  was 
not  to  be  hidden  in  obscurity ;  nor  was  an  argument  against 
the  Christian  faith  to  pass  in  silence.  "  The  elegance  of  the 
style,"  says  Gibbon,  "  and  the  rank  of  the  author,  recom- 
mended his  writings  to  the  public  attention  ;*  and  in  the  im- 
pious hst  of  the  enemies  of  Christianity,  the  celebrated  name 
of  Porphyry  was  effaced  by  the  superior  merit  and  reputa- 
tion of  Julian."!  Cyril's  large  work,  in  ten  books,  in  an- 
swer to  Julian,  was  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Theodosius ; 
and  to  it  we  are  chiefly  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  great 
part  of  the  treatise  of  Julian,  given,  as  it  is,  in  his  own 
words,  with  the  exception  of  the  occasional  exclusion  of 
blasphemous  terms,  such  as  did  not  strengthen  the  argument, 
nor  become  a  Christian  to  repeat. 

Men,  recklessly  rejecting  the  word  of  God,  have  ever  ar- 
gued on  the  assumption  that  his  thoughts  are  as  their 
thoughts,  and  that  all  the  moral  government  of  the  universe, 
to  which  they  are  aliens,  lies  within  their  comprehension. 
That  God  should  have  chosen  the  Jews  as  his  peculiar  peo- 
ple, among  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  was  abhorrent  to  the 
notions  of  a  Grecian  polytheist,  who  worshipped  a  different 
patron  god  in  almost  every  city  which  he  entered.  To  bring 
home  this  charge  against  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New, 
Julian,  in  support  of  it,  adduced  the  authority  of  Moses,  of 
Jesus,  and  of  Paul ;  and  to  show  that  the  apostle,  like  a  pol- 
ypus on  the  rocks,  according  to  his  simile,  changed  his  opin- 
ions upon  every  occasion,  he  accuses  him  of  affirming  atone 
time  that  the  Jews  only  are  God's  heritage,  and  at  another, 
in  order  to  persuade  the  Greeks,  and  gain  them  orer  to  his 
side,  saying,  "  Is  he  the  God  of  the  Jews  only  1     Yes,  of  the 

*  "  Libanius(Orat.  Parental.,  c.  Ixxxvii.,  p.  313),  who  has  been  susperted 
of  assisting  his  friend,  prefers  this  divine  vindication  (Orat.  ii.  in  nocem 
Julian.,  p.  255,  edit.  Morel.)  to  the  writings  of  Porphyry."— Gibbon,  vol.  ir., 
p.  81. 

t  Gibbon,  vol.  iv.,  p.  82. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    JULIAN.  257 

Gentiles  also  ;"  and  hence  he  founds  one  of  his  arguments 
against  the  Divine  origin  both  of  Judaism  and  Christianity. 
And  he  asserts,  as  may  readily  be  admitted,  that  Paul  ex- 
ceeds all  the  jugglers  and  impostors  that  ever  were.*  Tliere 
is,  indeed,  a  perfect  harmony  between  the  Old  Testament  and 
the  New  ;  and  the  one,  like  the  othei,  is  Dwine.  They  who 
were  not  a  people,  as  prophets  foretold  and  as  Paul  affirmed, 
are  called  to  be  the  people  of  the  livinp-   Tod 

In  arguing  against  the  fulfilment  o^  piopnecy,  he  speciaj'y 
and  by  name  refers  to  Matthew  and  f  uke,  and  states  that 
the  genealogies  recorded  by  them  "  had  been  shown  to  dif- 
fer from  one  another."  Ancient  as  they  are,  all  the  objec- 
tions against  the  gospels  stated  by  Julian  are  not  origmal; 
and  here,  as  elsewhere,  he  seems  to  borrow  so  closely  from 
Celsus  and  Porphyry  as  to  warrant  the  presumption  that 
their  works,  devoted  as  he  was  to  Grecian  literature  at  an 
early  age,  may  not  have  been  without  their  influence  in  his 
apostacy,  as  well  as  having  turned  others  from  the  faith. 
But  while  Matthew  and  Luke  are  charged  by  him  with  want 
of  dexterity  in  recording  their  respective  genealogies  of 
Christ,  we  cannot  but  admire  the  dexterity  of  our  adversa- 
ries in  supplying  us  with  their  conjoint  testimony  to  the  un- 
disputed genuineness  of  the  records  as  written  by  the  evan- 
gelists,! 

Some  farther  examples  may  be  given  o^  the  reasomngs  of 
Julian  against  Christianity  ;  and  little,  in  the  prest^nt  age, 
may  suffice  for  our  purpose,  though  all  arguments,  in  all 
ages,  have  never  been  effectual  for  his. 

"  Jesus,"  says  Julian,  as  quoted  by  Cyril,  "  whom  you  cel- 
ebrate, was  one  of  Caesars  subjects.  If  you  dispute  it,  I  will 
prove  it  by-and-by ;  but  it  may  be  as  well  done  now  For 
yourselves  allow  that  he  was  enrolled  with  his  father  and 
mother  in  the  time  of  Ci/renius  ;  but  after  he  was  born  what 
good  did  he  do  to  his  relations  ?  for  they  would  not,  as  ii  is 
said,  'believe  on  him.'  But  yet  that  stiffnecked  and  hard- 
hearted people  believed  Moses.  But  Jesus,  who  '  rebuked 
the  poinds,  and  voalked  on  the  seas,  and  cast  out  demons,''  and,  as 
you  will  have  it,  made  the  heaven  and  the  earth  (though 
none  of  his  disciples  presumed  to  say  this  of  him,  except 
John  only,  nor  he  clearly  and  distinctly ;  however,  let  it  be 
allowed  that  he  said  so),  could  not  order  his  designs  so  as 
to  save  his  friends  and  relations."  Luke  xi.  John  vii.,  5. 
Matt,  xiv.,  25.  Mark  vi.,  48.  John  i.$  We  admit  the  fact 
which  Julian  proves,  that  Jesus  was  one  of  Caesars  subjects. 
For  he  was  that  servant  of  rulers  whom  princes  have  worship- 
ped, the  time  of  whose  coming  was  defined  by  prophets  and 
accredited  by  pagans. 

*  Lardner,  vol  vii.,  p.  622,  623.  f  Ibid.,  p.  625.  %  Ibid.,  p.  627. 

Y2 


258  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

"Jesus  having  persuaded  a  few  among  you,  and  these 
among  the  worst  of  men,  has  now  been  celel)rated  about 
three  hundred  years  ;  having  done  nothing  in  his  lifetime  wor- 
thy of  remembrance,  unless  any  one  thinks  it  a  mighty  mat- 
ter to, heal  lafnc  and  blind  people,  and  exorcise  demoniacs  in  the 
villa ffes  of  Bethsaida  and  Bethany y* 

"  iBut  you  are  so  unhappy  as  not  to  adhere  to  the  things 
delivered  to  you  by  the  apostles ;  but  they  have  been  aUercd 
by  you  for  the  worse,  and  carried  on  to  yet  greaten  impiety. 
For  neither  Paul,  nor  Matthew,  nor  Luke,  nor  Mark,  has  dared 
to  call  Jesus  God.  But  honest  John,  understanding  that  a 
great  multitude  of  men  in  the  cities  of  Greece  and  Italy  were 
seized  with  this  distemper,  and  hearing  likewise,  as  I  sup- 
pose, that  the  tombs  of  Peter  and  Paul  were  respectedf  and 
frequented,  though  as  yet  privately  only,  then  first  presumed 
to  advance  that  doctrine.J 

"  But  you,  miserable  people,"  says  Julian,  "  at  the  same 
time  that  ye  refuse  to  worship  the  shield  that  fell  down  from 
Jupiter,  and  is  preserved  by  us,  which  was  sent  down  to  us 
by  the  great  Jupiter,  or  our  father  Mars,  as  a  certain  pledge 
of  the  perpetual  government  of  our  city ;  you  worship  the 
wood  of  the  cross,  and  make  signs  of  it  upon  your  foreheads, 
and  fix  it  upon  your  doors.  Shall  we  for  this  most  hate  the 
understanding,  or  most  pity  the  simple  and  ignorant  among 
you,  who  are  so  very  unhappy  as  to  leave  the  immortal 
gods  and  go  over  to  a  dead  Jew  ?" 

The  best  and  purest  days  of  primitive  Christianity  had 
passed  before  the  days  of  Juhan ;  and  evil  practices  had  be- 
gun to  be  introduced,  the  reprobation  of  which  came  not 
with  the  best  grace  or  effect  from  an  idolater,  though  no 
lover  of  the  truth  would  utter  a  word  in  their  defence.  Some 
of  these,  practised  by  nominal  believers  after  a  false  and  safe 
profession  of  the  faith  could  be  made,  were  so  utterly  un- 
christian, that  he  who  vilified  the  gospel  was  constrained  to 
vindicate  it  from  the  imputation  of  affording  them  a  sanction. 

After  censuring  Christians  for  having  destroyed  temples 
and  altars,  he  adds,  "  You  have  killed  not  only  our  people, 
who  persisted  in  the  ancient  religion,  but  likewise  heretics 
equally  deceived  with  yourselves,  but  who  would  not  mourn 
the  dead  man  exactly  in  the  same  manner  that  you  do.  But 
these  are  your  own  inventions ;  for  Jesus  has  nowhere  directed 
you  to  do  such  things,  nor  yet  Paul.  The  reason  is,  that  they 
never  expected  that  you  would  arrive  at  such  power.  They 
were  contented  with  deceiving  maidservants  and  slaves,  and 
by  them  some  men  and  women,  such  as  Cornelius  and  Ser- 
gius.  If  there  were  then  any  other  men  of  eminence  brought 
over  to  you,  I  mean  in  the  times  of  Tiberius  and  Claudius, 

*  Lardner,  vol.  vii.,  p.  627.  t  Ibid.,  p.  628, 629.  X  Ibid.,  p.  630. 


ARGUMENTS    OF    JULIAN.  259 

luhen  these  things  happened,  let  me  pass  for  a  liar  in  every- 
thing I  say."* 

4iler  the  same  manner  Julian  quotes  various  passages 
from  the  Gospels,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  the  Epistles, 
which  show  that  the  natural  man  cannot  comprehend  the 
things  of  the  Spirit,  although  he  may,  for  that  very  reason, 
be  a  more  unexceptionable,  if  not  more  competent,  witness 
to  the  writings  of  the  evangelists  and  apostles. 

The  illustrations  which  have  i)een  adduced  of  the  humble 
reasoning  but  noble  testimony  of  the  royal  author,  show  how 
much  could  be  achieved  on  behalf  of  the  gospel  in  a  few 
brief  sentences,  designed  to  prove  that  there  is  notiiiiig  Di- 
vine m  the  Christian  religion.  And  we  may  well,  again  and 
again,  express  our  wonder  at  the  power  which  our  adversa- 
ries exhibit,  and  which,  in  conclusiveness  as  to  facts,  not  to 
arguments,  may  be  deemed  irresistible.  And  it  is  here,  but 
here  only,  that  believers  may  yield  them  the  palm ;  and  we 
can  only  compare  them  one  with  another.  Voiney  was  not 
satisned  with  illustrating  less  than  six  predictions  in  a  single 
sentence,  which  far  surpasses  the  labours  of  other  commen- 
tators. And  it  would  require  some  research  into  the  wri- 
tings of  the  fathers,  to  collect  from  them  so  much  evidence 
in  so  few  sentences,  referring  so  explicitly  and  directly  to 
the  origin  of  Christianity  and  the  genuineness  of  the  New 
Testament.  The  argument-,  having  been  appropriated  by 
other  adversaries,  it  is  but  reasonable  that  Christians  should 
claim  the  facts.  These,  upon  imperial  authority,  are,  that 
.Tesus  was  born  at  the  time  of  the  taxing  (or,  as  properly  ren- 
dered by  Julian,  enrolling)  in  the  time  of  Cyrenius,  or  in  the 
reign  of  Augustus  ;  that  his  doctrine  was  promulgated  by 
himself  and  his  apostles  in  the  reigns  of  Tiberius  and  Clau- 
dius, the  latter  of  v/hom  died  about  twenty  years  after  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ ;  that  within  that  period,  not  only  some 
maidservants  and  slaves,  and  some  men  and  women,  but 
Cornehus  and  Sergius,  men  of  eminence,  were  converted 
from  among  the  Gentiles,  or  brought  over  to  the  Christian 
faith ;  that,  as  told  in  two  lines,  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John,  were  all  writers  of  the  Christian  Scriptures  ;  that  John 
wrote  his  history  of  the  life  of  Christ  after  the  other  gospels 
had  been  written,  and  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Paul  and 
Peter,  or  according  to  the  date  generally  assigned  by  all 
Christians;  and  that,  previous  to  that  time  (about  A.  D.  68), 
a  great  multitude  of  men  in  the  cities  of  Greece  and  Italy 
had  embraced  the  Christian  faith ;  that  the  life  of  Jesus  was 
not  only  thus  written  by  those  who  were  eyewitnesses  of 
his  works,  but  that  Jesus  had  healed  the  blind  and  the  lame, 
and  cast  out  devils,  and  rebuked  the  winds,  and  walked  on 

*  Lardner,  vol.  vii.,  p.  630,  631, 


260  APPROPRIATION    OF    THE 

the  seas ;  and  that,  whether  such  wp^kls  in  the  estimation  of 
Julian  were  mighty  or  not,  they  were  not  to  be  denied  by 
those  who  disparaged  them,  and  that  Jesus  had  ever  been 
celebrated  from  the  time  that  th^  were  wrought. 

Though  it  was  a  dubious  article  in  the  pagan  creed  wheth- 
er the  great  shield  which  fell  from  heaven  was  sent  from  the 
great  Jupiter  or  from  Mars,  yet  a  heathen  emperor  was  wil- 
ling to  own  himself  a  liar  if  any  other  men  of  eminence  were 
converted  from  among  the  Gentiles,  within  a  brief  and  lim- 
ited time,  but  those  who  (exclusive  of  Jews  or  Jewish  pros- 
elytes)  are  named  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles;  and  he  could 
say,  as  expressly  as  significantly,  what  things  Jesus  and  Paul 
had  nowhere  directed  to  be  done.  The  genuineness  of  the 
Christian  scriptures  is  not  merely  held  to  be  undoubted,  but, 
instead  of  a  Christian  challenging  a  heathen,  an  unbeliever 
and  a  gainsayer  challenges  Christians  to  deny  or  to  dispute 
it,  or  to  bring  forward  any  other  or  contradictory  testimony 
as  to  the  facts  which  the  Scriptures  record,  or  to  the  pre- 
cepts which  they  enjoin.  And  now  that  the  word  of  God  is 
tried,  though  in  a  thousand  ways,  and  ever  comes  out  like 
gold  from  the  furnace,  and  that  the  name  of  Jesus  is  still 
honoured  after  eighteen  hundred  years,  the  shield  which 
they  would  not  worship,  and  the  oracles  which  they  would 
not  believe,  though  adored  and  revered  by  those  who  mocked 
at  the  faith  of  Him  of  whom  all  the  prophets,  testified,  are  il- 
lustrations of  the  scriptural  affirmation,  that,  while  the  lip  of 
truth  shall  be  established  for  ever,  a  lying  tongue  is  but  for 
a  moment.  And,  while  the  words  of  our  enemies  are  en- 
during monuments  of  the  genuineness  of  our  Scriptures,  the 
once  adored  shield,  which,  in  our  skeptical  notions,  first  fell 
from  the  forge  of  sonfi-e  son  of  Vulcan  upon  earth,  having 
failed  to  fulfil  its 'pledge^  as  to  the  perpetual  government  of  a 
pagan  city,  may  serve  as  a  memorial  of  the  reasoning  of  Ju- 
lian, and,  though  eaten  up  of  rust  and  unfit  to  be  worshipped, 
may  be  good  enough  to  grace  the  tomb  of  the  immortals, 
from  whom  the  apostate,  who  cast  away  the  heaven-de- 
scended shield  of  faith,  believed  that  the  piece  of  earthly 
iron  came  down. 

The  word  of  the  Jewish  prophets  turns  darkness  into  light. 
And  our  enemies,  from  first  to  last,  by  bearing  witness 'to 
facts  which  they  foretold,  are  constrained  to  prove  that  the 
shield  of  faith  which  Christians  bear  hath  indeed  come  down 
from  heaven.  The  gods  of  the  heathens  were  not  immor- 
tals. But  he  who  once  was  dead  is  alive  again,  and  liveth 
for  evermore.  And  those  alone  are  "  miserable  people"  who 
believe  not  in  Jesus,  and  die  in  their  sins.  The  contempt- 
uous designation  of  a  "  dead  Jew"  is  itself  a  sign  of  his  Mes- 
siahship.  The  lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  arose  from  the  grave, 
as  the  king  of  the  forest,  arising  from  sleep,  shakes  himself 


ARGUMENTS    OF    JULIAN.  261 

from  the  dust.  According  to  the  prophets  who  spake  by  in- 
spiration of  God,  he  it  is  and  he  alone  that  was  cut  off  out  of 
the  land  of  the  living,  who  hath  prolonged  his  days,  and  in  whose 
hand  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  shall  prosper.  His  death  was  the 
needful  precursor  of  salvation  to  man.  The  Messiah  was  to 
be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself.  And  it  was  even  because  he 
poured  out  his  soul  in  death  that  he  was  to  divide  a  portion 
with  the  great  and  the  spoil  with  the  strong. 

In  the  triumph  of  prophetic  and  Christian  truth,  the  cap- 
tive enemies  of  the  cross  usher  in  the  heralds  of  the  gospel, 
strew  all  their  flowers  in  the  way,  lay  down  their  palms  be- 
fore the  feet  of  the  apostles  of  Jesus,  and  bear  the  chains 
which  they  themselves  had  forged. 

Before  going  forth  with  the  Israelites  from  dark  and  idol- 
atrous Egypt,  Moses  said  unto  Pharaoh,  who  sought  to  keep 
their  goods,  "  Thou  must  give  us  also  sacrifices  and  burnt- 
offerings,  that  we  may  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  our  God.  Our 
cattle  also  shall  go  with  us :  there  shall  not  a  hoof  be  left 
behind ;  for  thereof  must  we  take  to  serve  the  Lord  our 
God."  Gen.  x.,  25,  26.  And  when  Joshua  had  entered  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  conquered  the  kings  that  fought  against 
him,  he  said  unto  the  captains  of  Israel,  "  Come  near,  put 
your  feet  upon  the  necks  of  these  kings ;  and  they  put  their 
feet  upon  the  necks  of  them.  And  Joshua  said  unto  them, 
Be  strong  and  of  good  courage  ;  for  thus  shall  the  Lord  do 
to  all  your  enemies."  And  in  passing  from  the  land  of  our 
enemies  and  entering  on  holy  ground,  the  proudest  of  our 
foes  must  give  us  sacrifices  and  burnt-ofl'erings,  that  we  may 
offer  them  unto  the  Lord  our  God ;  of  all  that  our  enemies 
would  take  from  us,  not  a  hoof  shall  be  left  behind  ;  we  may 
put  our  feet  upon  the  necks  of  their  captive  kings* and  the 
triumph  of  the  gospel  may  at  least  be  like  that  of  the  law. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OF    THE    AUTHENTICIFY    OF    THE    NEW    TESTAMENT   SCRIPTURES. 

It  would  betray  equal  ignorance  and  presumption  to  at- 
tempt, within  the  compass  of  a  few  pages,  to  give  anything 
like  a  complete  view  of  the  credibility  of  the  Christian  faith, 
in  respect  even  to  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  commu- 
nicated, or  in  which  it  is  set  before  our  reason,  and  held 
forth  to  the  belief  and  acceptance  of  man.  Every  writer  on 
such  a  subject  must  feel  himself  encumbered  with  the  abun- 
dance of  materials,  and  his  only  difficulty  lies  in  selecting,  ar- 


262  OF    THE    AUTHENTICITY    OF 

ranging,  and  condensing  tiiem.  This,  our  only  labour,  in- 
creases at  every  step  as  we  go  on  in  the  investigation  of  the 
evidence  of  Christianity.  The  mine  on  which  we  are  now 
entering  has  been  often  explore^l;  much  precious  ore  has 
been  brought  from  it,  some  of  the  latest  of  which  is  also 
some  of  the  richest.  And  as  bright  gems,  before  unseen, 
ever  spring  up  anew  and  sparkle  beneath  the  hand  of  the 
miner,  so,  we  doubt  not,  much  still  remains  to  reward  and 
bless  the  researches  of  those  who,  in  confirmation  of  the 
faith  of  others,  as  well  as  for  perfecting  their  own,  diligently 
search  the  Scriptures.  Not  in  this  field  alone,  but  in  every 
other,  the  analogy  holds  good  between  the  word  and  the 
works  of  God,  that  many  facts,  ever  open  to  investigation  in 
the  discovery  of  truth,  have  only  of  late  been  searched  out 
and  applied ;  and  the  darkness  which,  to  unobservant  spec- 
ulatists,  seemed  to  hang  over  both,  begins  at  last  to  be  com- 
pletely cleared  away.  All  that  can  be  attempted  here  is  a 
simple  exhibition  of  the  form  of  credibility  in  which  the  gos- 
pel is  set  before  us.  And  though  it  would  require  terse  and 
massy  volumes  to  exhaust  the  subject,  yet,  from  the  fulness 
of  the  matter,  a  few  reflections  may  suffice  to  show  that, 
while,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  nothing  questionable  in  the 
testimony  respecting  the  genuineness  of  the  Christian  scrip- 
tures as  written  by  the  disciples  and  apostles  of  Jesus,  so 
there  is  nothing  incomplete  in  the  record,  and  nothing  to  be 
found  that  can  warrant  the  most  scrupulous  inquirer  to  with- 
hold his  faith  from  those  witnesses  of  Jesus  who,  after  the 
prophets,  first  testified  of  Him,  and  whose  writings  have  come 
down  untarnished  from  their  hands  into  our  own. 

Havm^  dilated  largely  on  the  testimony  borne  •  to  the 
genuineness  of  the  New  Testament,  not  merely  because  of  its 
importance  and  abundance,  but  also  and  chiefly  because  many 
of  the  facts  are  little  known  and  nofr  easily  accessible  to  the 
generality  of  readers,  this  reason  may  well  be  reversed,  and 
the  proof  of  the  authenticity  of  the  gospels  and  epistles  may 
bo  drawn  within  a  narrower  compass,  because  the  knowledge 
of  the  facts  on  which  it  mainly  rests  are  within  the  reach  of 
all,  We  need  but  to  search  in  order  to  discover,  or,  rather, 
simply  to  come  and  see,  how  perfectly  the  very  framework 
of  the  gospel  is  adapted  to  its  purpose  of  conveying  to  man, 
in  a  credible  and  intelligible  fr.nn,  the  revelation  of  the  will, 
of  the  mercy,  and  of  the  grace  of  God. 

While  the  proved  inspiration  of  the  Jewish  prophets,  the 
credibility  of  miracles  even  from  experience,  the  Divine  au- 
thority of  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  are  all  before  us,  and 
whde  the  words  of  !he  Lord  by  his  prophets  concerning  the 
Messiah  are  yet  in  our  hearing,  and  demand  that  their  fulfil- 
ment should  be  shown,  we  neither  stop  nor  stoop  to  banter 
with  the  fancies  of  men  about  the  impossibility,  the  improba- 


THE    NEW  TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  263 

bility,  or  the  Heedlessness  of  a  Divine  revelation.  For  reason 
would  be  abjured  in  pausing  to  question  whether  the  proph- 
ets of  a  God  of  mercy  as  well  as  justice  had  not  a  higher 
purpose  to  fulfil  than  to  foretel  the  desolations  of  cities  be- 
cause of  sin;  whether  he  who  in  times  past  and  in  divers 
manners  spake  unto  the  Israelites  by  the  prophets,  7nighl  not 
speak  again  by  others  unto  all ;  whether,  as  the  God  not  of 
the  Jews  only,  but  also  of  the  Gentiles,  he  might  not  give  a 
perfect  revelation  of  his  will  fot  all  nations  of  the  earth,  as, 
ultimately  for  their  sakes,  he  had  formerly  given  unto  one. 
Nor  do  we  enter  for  a  moment  on  the  discussion  of  the  ques- 
tion, not  to  be  mooted  without  blaspheming  the  name  and 
belying  the  word  of  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  whether  he 
would  keep  back  his  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and 
break  his  promise  and  his  oath  to  the  father  of  the  faithful, 
and  to  David  to  whom  he  had  sworn,  or  whether  the  limited 
time  never  should  arrive  when  Messiah  the  Prince  should 
come,  and  be  cut  off,  or  whether  every  threatened  judgment 
should  be  fulfilled,  and  every  promised  blessing  be  revoked 
and  disannulled.  No  ;  the  sure  word  of  prophecy  is  not  to 
be  held  in  abeyance,  nor  its  credit  to  be  suspended,  till  the 
fantastic  imaginations  of  men  be  consulted  and  satisfied. 
The  verdict  of  reason,  as  given  by  Socrates  and  Plato,  who 
confessed  the  need  of  a  revelation  from  on  high,  and  ex- 
pressed the  hope  that  a  Divine  Being  would  for  that  end  visit 
the  world;  every  form  of  false  faith;  the  gross  darkness 
that  covered  the  world ;  the  deep  debasement  of  our  moral 
nature  ;  the  imperfect  virtue  and  the  sanctioned  vices  of 
heathen  moralists  ;  their  want  alike  of  motives,  of  means, 
and  of  power  to  reform,  or,  rather,  to  renovate  mankind  ; 
idolatry  in  all  its  forms — man,  in  whom  God  had  put  a  spirit, 
bending  to  stocks  and  stones,  and  four-footed  beasts,  and 
creeping  things,  changing  the  glory  of  God  into  a  lie,  and 
turning  his  own  glory  into  the  deepest  degradation ;  the 
blinded  consultation  of  heathen  oracles  which  spoke  for  hire, 
pandered  to  the  evil  passions  of  men,  and  often  stimulated 
to  war,  and  which  never  uttered  a  word  worthy  of  the  re- 
membrance of  the  world ;  the  miserable  ignorance  of  the 
pagan  priesthood,  who  could  neither  tell  nor  do  anything  by 
which  man  could  be  saved  from  sin,  and  who  acted  rather 
like  necromancers  than  teachers  of  mankind  ;  the  sacrificial 
rites  of  the  heathens,  in  all  their  cruelties,  miseries,  and 
abominations,  the  screams  of  children  passing  through  the 
fire,  the  blood  of  immolated  human  victims  that  long  drenched 
the  altars  in  every  country  under  heaven,  and  the  renewed 
indulgence  in  sin  so  soon  as  expiated  in  the  blood  of  their 
kindred  ;  the  character  of  the  gods,  patterns  of  vice,  and  fit 
agents  of  the  prince  of  darkness,  under  whose  domination 
iniquity  would  have  been  perpetuated  ;  the  idols  that  are  still 


?6l  OF    THE  AUTHENTICITY    OP 

brought  from  heathen  lands,  and  all  the  barbarous  deeds  that 
vet  are  done  under  the  sacred  but  abused  name  of  religion ; 
every  virtue,  to  the  astounding  of  pagans,  that  was  practised 
by  the  early  Christians,  while  the»  power  of  the  faith  as  it  is 
in  Jesus  was  felt,  and  a  proof  was  given  to  the  world  what 
glorious  forms,  through  its  efficacy,  could  be  raised  out  of 
ruins ;  every  evil  that  has  resulted-  from  the  corruption  and 
perversion  of  Christianity,  from  whence  idolatry  was  re- 
newed, and  the  "  dark  ages"  returned,  while  the  light  of  the 
gospel  was  hid,  and  the  commandments  of  men  were  sub- 
stituted for  the  v^ord  of  God ;  and  the  disorganizing  of  so- 
ciety anddemonizmg  of  men,  the  experience  of  which  needs 
not  to  be  told,  which  followed  the  national  abjuration  of  the 
Christian  faith,  when  nothing  but  the  name  had  to  be  re- 
nounced ;  all  these,  but  not  these  alone,  even  the  whole  his- 
tory of' our  race  might  tend  to  show,  from  the  mere  outward 
aspect  of  the  state  of  man,  that  human  nature  was  not  with- 
out the  need  of  a  remedy  or  man  of  a  Redeemer,  but  that 
our  blindness  is  such  as  God  alone  can  enlighten,  and  our 
sin  and  misery  such  as  that  God  alone  could  find  a  ransom. 
And  all  cry  aloud  from  every  quarter  and  from  every  age, 
that  light  from  heaven  could  alone  enlighten  the  nations,  and 
that  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  stood  in  need  of  the  promised 
salvation  of  the  Lord. 

It  would  be  in  vain  for  one  man  to  address  another  in  a 
language  to  him  unknovi^n.  And  the  mode  of  communicating 
truths,  thougl)  they  be  divine,  has  necessarily  to  be  adapted 
to  the  faculties  and  perceptions  of  those  for  whose  instruc- 
tion they  are  revealed.  In  declaring  his  will  to  men  and 
not  to  angels,  it  seemed  meet  unto  the  Lord,  as  experience 
in  the  case  of  Israel  shows,  to  make  use  of  human  means 
and  human  instrumentality,  even  as  throughout  all  nature  he 
has  adapted  everything  to  its  object,  and  has  fitted  its  shell 
to  the  worm. 

Deriving  all  our  knowledge  of  external  things,  and  of  what- 
ever happens  in  the  world,  through  the  medium  of  our  senses, 
it  is  necessary,  if  we  remain  not  in  utter  ignorance,  that 
such  knowledge  be  communicated  to  us  in  some  tangible 
shape  or  intelligible  form.  Far  superior  to  the  faint  and  im- 
perfect traces  which  oral  tradition  leaves  of  events  long 
past,  history  presents  us  with  their  vivid  impressions  as  if 
they  were  ever  new ;  and  as  if  embalming  them  while  yet 
they  retained  their  actual  and  living  form,  preserves  them 
from  the  corruption  that  preys  upon  all  human  things.  By 
its  means  the  past  becomes  the  heritage  of  the  future.  And, 
fitted  to  the  immortal  mind,  the  events  of  many  generations  lie 
open  to  our  view  ;  the  evanescent  interests  of  an  hour  leave, 
as  they  pass,  an  enduring  memorial;  and  as  the  augury  of  a 
higher  judgment  to  come,  they  may  be  brought  to  the  bar  of 


THE    NEW   TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  265 

human  judgment ;  and  in  the  decision  of  enlightened  reason, 
tlie  lieartless  lust  of  power  and  senseless  pride  of  life,  which 
formed  the  vainglories  of  their  day,  may  meet  with  their 
merited  reprobation  ;  and,  in  retributive  justice,  the  presage 
of  a  rigiiteous  judgment,  it  may  at  least  sometimes  happen, 
that  he  who  exalted  himself  is  humbled,  and  he  who  humbled 
himself  is  exalted.  And  thus,  looking  alone  to  the  mighty  in- 
fluence of  their  record,  none  of  all  who  have  ever  written, 
though  registering  the  actions  of  the  greatest  of  earthly  con- 
querors, gifted  with  the  highest  genius,  and  skilled  in  more 
than  all  the  literature  of  Greece  and  Rome,  shall  be  fwMnd 
worthy  to  occupy  a  second  place  near  to  those  onct  de- 
spised and  reputed  "abject'"  Galileans,  who  wrote  the  history 
and  recorded  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

History,  whatever  may  be  its  importance  or  use,  is  often 
of  itself  imperfect,  being  sometimes  scarcely  discriminated 
from  fable,  when  not  drawn  from  any  authentic  source,  and 
at  other  times  resting  solely  on  traditions,  and  unsubstan- 
tiated by  any  contemporary  record,  or  the  express  testimony 
of  a  single  individual  to  whom  the  recorded  events  were  per- 
sonally known.  In  its  most  perfect  form,  while  it  transmits 
to  future  ages  the  knowledge  of  facts  which  were  influential 
on  the  fate  of  the  world  and  notorious  in  their  acted  time,  it 
is  drawn  not  merely  from  an  unvarying  and  universal  tradi- 
tion, but  from  the  testimony  of  eyewitnesses,  or  from  origi- 
nal writings  and  documents  bearing  on  the  transactions  and 
records,  while  they  were  yet  new,  or,  like  an  original  paint- 
ing, it  may  be  transcribed  from  the  life  as  written  by  one 
who  related  what  he  saw,  and  with  which,  it  may  be,  his  own 
fate  was  involved.  In  the  last  and  most  direct  form  which 
history  can  assume,  if  its  genuineness,  be  admitted,  or  if  it 
be  proved  to  be  the  work  of  its  reputed  author,  then,  how- 
ever distant  may  be  the  period  to  which  it  refers,  instead  of 
any  dark  or  dense  medium  of  transmission  that  would  dis- 
figure every  object  and  obscure  the  perception  of  it,  there  is 
nothing  questionable  but  the  veracity  of  the  historian,  and 
there  is  nothing  between  his  readers  and  the  knowledge  of 
the  facts  which  he  records  but  the  sight  of  his  eyes  by  which 
they  were  seen,  and  the  words  of  his  lip.s  or  the  writing  of 
his  pen  by  which  they  were  communicated.  And  the  only 
doubt  that  can  arise  is  whether  he  is  a  false  or  a  faithful 
witness,  whether  he  sought  to  palm  a  fable  on  the  world, 
however  cunningly  devised,  or  whether  he  plainly  told  what 
he  saw  or  what  he  did,  and  what  he  could  not  but  know  to 
be  truth.  There  are  histories  which  rank  in  this  highest 
class,  and  that  need  nothing  but  their  undisputed  genuine- 
ness and  the  admitted  veracity  of  their  authors  to  command 
a  direct  and  immediate  credibility.  Xenophon's  account  of 
the  retreat  of  the  ten  thousand  Greeks,  Ca3sar's  Coramenta- 

Z 


266  OF    THE    AUTHENTICITY    OF 

ries,  Josephus's  History  of  the  Jewish  War,  may  be  adduced 
as  instances.  And  though  the  first  two  of  these  were  ante- 
rior to  the  Christian  Scriptures,  and  the  last  nearly  contem- 
porary with  them,  they  have  not  lost  one  iota  of  their  credi- 
bility ni  the  lapse  of  time,  which  has  conferred  on  them  the 
sanction  of  ages.  Such,  in  historical  researches,  is  the  value 
of  any  direct  and  positive  testimony,  that,  from  the  want  of 
it,  doubis  naturally  arise  and  discussions  ensue  ;  and  the 
subsequent  discovery  of  a  single  genuine  letter  of  any  party 
to  the  event,  or  from  any  one  who  was  cognizant  of  the 
facts,  might,  even  with  a  word,  suffice  to  terminate  the  keen- 
est historical  controversy  that  ever  existed.  In  the  defi- 
ciency or  want  of  such  testimony,  any  access  to  the  truth  is 
CMgerly  seized ;  and  when  truth  alone  is  the  object  of  inves- 
tigation or  inquiry,  proof,  such  as  the  case  admits  of,  is  gen- 
erally and  readily  acquiesced  in,  for,  were  it  otherwise,  his- 
torical facts,  of  all  others  the  best  attested  and  universally 
believed,  would  be  easily  denied,  and  a  skeptic  in  history 
would  make  but  little  progress  in  knowledge. 

The  word  that  is  of  God,  the  scriptural  histor^'^  of  Jesus, 
does  not  partake  ol  the  imperfection  that  is  here  attachable 
to  human  wriiings.  The  testimony  was  not  only  sealed  with 
blood,  but  is  of  itself  complete.  And  in  taking  up  the  New 
Testament  as  the  genuine  writings  of  the  evangelists  and 
apostles  of  Jesus,  we  handle  documenrs  of  a  different  order, 
of  a  more  direct  kind,  and  of  a  more  distinctive  character,  as 
well  as  in  a  more  abundant  measure,  than  those  which  or- 
dinary history  presents  ;  and  were  Christians  to  take  them 
as  a  standard,  and  to  demand  a  similar  and  corresponding 
testimony  in  every  particular,  before  assent  should  be  yield- 
ed to  any  records  of  anything  that  has  happened  in  the 
world  beyond  the  memory  of  the  existing  generation,  or 
which  their  own  eyes  have  not  seen,  all  history  would  be 
annihilated,  if  nothing  else  could  constitute  the  name  but  the 
independent  narratives  of  various  individuals  who  wrote 
from  personal  knowledge,  who  all  saw  the  facts  w^hich  they 
describe,  or  who  were  familiar  with  the  habits  and  witnesses 
of  the  actions  of  the  man  vi^hose  character  they  delineated 
or  whose  life  they  wrote,  and  who,  moreover,  were  each  and 
all  called  to  give  the  strongest  demonstration  that  could  be 
conceived  of  their  belief  in  what  they  wrote  ;  and  the  wit- 
nesses of  Jesus  alone  could  be  heard. 

Notwithstanding  the  superior  credibility  generally  and 
justly  attached  to  direct  and  immediate  rather  than  to  de- 
rived or  secondary  testimony,  yet  a  history,  indisputably  the 
work  of  its  reputed  author,  may  bear  internal  marks  of  its 
falsity,  and  be  utterly  unworthy  of  the  slightest  credit.  But 
whether  he  be  himself  deceived,  or  seek  to  palm  a  deception 
upon  others,  the  falsehood  is  chargeable  on  the  historian ; 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  267 

every  allegation  that  the  narration  is  not  true  is  an  impeach- 
ment of  his  veracity,  if  the  nature  of  the  events  was  such 
that  he  could  not  have  been  deceived  concerning  them  ;  or 
a  charge  against  his  credulity  in  believing,  and  rashness,  if 
not  guiltiness,  in  recording  tvhat  was  false,  if  he  himself  had 
been  deluded  or  deceived.  In  either  case,  an  alleged  his- 
tory may  be  proved  to  be  a  fable,  which  the  name  of  the  au- 
thor, though  known,  would  be  insufficient  to  substantiate  as 
fact ;  and,  instead  of  being  believed,  he  would  be  rightly  held 
as  a  fabricator  or  promulgator  of  falsehood.  The  Koran  of 
Mohammed,  enjoining  faith  and  forbidding  inquiry,  may  be 
here  adduced  as  an  instance.  It  was  the  genuine  production 
of  a  false  prophet,  which  cannot  stand  the  slightest  scrutiny, 
but  bears  many  marks  of  imposture.  It  unfolded  a  faith  that 
rested  on  assumptions  and  allegations  which  had  not  even 
the  pretence  of  a  ptoof,  and  it  was  enforced  not  by  argu- 
ment, but  by  the  sword,  and  abundance  of  prey  supplied  the 
lack  of  evidence. 

Try  all  things  ;  holdfast  to  that  which  is  right,  are  Christian 
precepts;  and  it  is  not  in  contravention  of  such  commands, 
nor  in  vivjiation  of  any  other  to  which  Christians  are  required 
to  yield  a  dutiful  acquiescence,  that  the  utmost  latitude  may 
here  be  given  to  free  inquiry,  and  that  men,  in  the  fullest 
exercise  of  their  reason,  may  judge  of  the  crerlibiiity  of  the 
testimony  which  has  been  borne  by  the  disciples  and  apos- 
tles of  .lesus,  whether  they  be  really  faithful  witnesses  or 
not.  Has  the  New  Testament  ample  or  satisfactory  marks 
of  authenticity  as  a  historical  record  !  or  is  there  anything 
in  which  the  testimony  which  it  bears  can  be  shown  to  be 
either  defective  or  fallacious  1  Let  the  question  be  put  in 
any  way  that  our  adversaries  can  devise,  all  that  the  Chris- 
tian asks  is  liberty  to  answer  it. 

Having  seen,  from  the  most  unexceptionable  testimony, 
altogether  independent  of  that  of  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament,  that  Jesus,  the  author  of  the  Christian  faith,  was 
put  to  death,  and  that  Christianity  originated  at  the  very  time 
and  in  the  very  manner  which  they  represent :  and  that  its 
progress  in  th«  world,  and  the  hostility  which  it  encountered, 
and  many  other  facts  connected  with  its  origin,  were  pre- 
cisely such  as  they  describe,  and,  though  narrated  by  hea- 
thens, are  as  accordant  with  the  predicted  facts  relative  to 
the  Messiah  as  with  the  scriptural  history  of  Jesus  :  having 
seen,  also,  how  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament  have  b(3en 
quoted  thousands  and  thousands  of  times  from  the  earliest 
ages  to  the  present,  without  a  question  of  their  being  the 
very  writings  of  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  were  argued 
from  as  such  by  the  earliest  controversial  opponents  of 
Christianity ;  and  having  Hume's  argument,  by  which  their 
testimony  was  impeached  or  evaded — of  itself  a  proof  that 


268  OF    THE    AUTHENTICITY    OF 

one  of  these  writers  foretold,  as  he  also  refuted,  his  great 
argument  nearly  seventeen  hundred  years  before  the  skeptic 
invented  it — surely  any  further  discussion  as  to  the  admissi- 
bility of  their  testimony  would  be  a  tax  upon  the  patience 
rather  than  an  appeal  to  the  sober  judgment  of  the  reader. 
And  enough  may  have  been  said  to  show  cause  that  the  wit- 
nesses of  Jesus  are  worthy  of  a  hearing,  and  have  a  right 
to  demand  it ;  and  that,  instead  of  wisdom,  it  would  be  the 
greatest  folly  to  reject  tlieir  testimony  unheard.  We  have 
seen  how  their  enemies  used  the  Christian's  weapons,  and  it 
is  but  reasonable  that  they  should  be  taken  up  at  last  in  de- 
fence of  the  gospel.  And  the  evangelists  and  apostles  ol 
Jesus,  confessed  as  such  by  our  adversaries,  may  well  ap- 
peal to  the  understanding  of  men,  whether  they  who  were 
ready  to  die  for  the  faith  may  not  join,  in  a  commo4i  te'sti- 
mony  on  its  behalf,  with  those  who  strove  in  vain  to  testify 
against  it.  Let  it  be  seen  whether  they  are  found  true  or 
false  witnesses  for  God  ;  and  let  us  come  and  reason  to- 
gether whether  these  witnesses,  whom,  as  Christians  athrm, 
God  had  chosen,  wert^  left  inadequate  to  the  task  which  he 
assigned  them,  or  whether  men  can  bring  forth  better  wit- 
nesses to  events  long  past,  or  produce  any  history  of  any 
man  that  can  be  proved  to  be  true,  and  the  history  of  Jesus 
be  left  in  doubt. 

The  New  Testament,  as  the  record  of  the  life  and  doctrine 
of  Jesus,  is  not  to  be  brought  down  to  a  comparison  with  any 
other  history  that  was  ever  written,  even  by  an  eyewitness 
of  all  that  he  related ;  it  rather  bears  the  character,  in  every 
age,  of  a  case  ripe  for  investigation  and  ready  for  proof, 
where  each  witness  speaks  in  his  own  name,  and  their  joint 
testimony  may  be  sifted  and  compared,  so  that  on  the  most 
rigid  investigation,  however  often  renewed,  the  proof  may 
come  clearly  out,  that  facts  and  not  fictions  are  related  :  that 
Jesus  taught,  and  lived,  and  died,  and  arose  from  the  dead ; 
and  that  such  testimony  is  borne  concerning  him,  that  all  who 
believe  in  Moses  and  the  prophets  must  believe  in  him.  And 
an  appeal  may  be  made  to  the  understanding  of  men,  and,  in 
right,  a  verdict  may  be  demanded  from  all  who  do  not  reject 
alike  the  evidence  which  the  gospel  imparts  and  the  salvation 
which  it  offers,  that  the  word  is  of  God  and  not  of  man,  and 
that  it  is  as  clear  that  the  Scriptures  are  true  as  that  they 
were  written  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus. 

On  opening  the  New  Testament,  we  read  the  testimony 
of  four  witnesses,  in  the  form  of  four  distinct  and  circumstan- 
tial histories  of  the  author  of  the  Christian  religion.  Two  of 
these  were  written  by  apostles,  and  the  other  two  by  two 
disciples  of  Jesus,  of  whom  the  one  was  the  companion  of 
the  apostle  Peter  after  the  death  of  Christ,  and  the  other  of 
the  apostle  Paul.     By  Luke,  the  last  of  these,  the  Acts  of  the 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  269 

Af Cities  were  also  recorded.  Besides  these  five  histories, 
there  are  twenty-two  separate  epistles,  of  which  fourteen 
were  written  by  Paul.  Nine  of  these  were  severally  written 
to  seven  Christian  churches  or  assemblies  of  believers,  who 
had  been  converted  to  the  Christian  faith  from  Judaism  or 
paganism.  One  of  these  churches  was  in  Rome,  the  capital 
of  the  world  ;  another  in  the  city  of  Ephesus,  so  renowned  for 
the  temple  and  the  worship  of  Diana ;  and  others  in  various 
cities  of  Greece,  which  was  no  less  renowned  for  wisdom. 
These  epistles  were  thus  spread  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  Another  was  addressed  specially  to  the  Hebrews, 
wherever  they  were  scattered.  Of  the  other  epistles  of  Paul, 
two  were  written  to  Timothy,  one  to  Titus,  eminent  preach- 
ers of  the  gospel,  and  one  to  Philemon,  a  Christian  of  Co- 
losse.  There  are,  besides  these,  one  epistle  of  James,  two 
of  Peter,  three  of  John,  and  one  of  Jude ;  and  the  Book  of 
the  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  which  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
concludes,  as  it  began,  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  and  assigns 
the  charge  to  the  history  of  the  world,  ultimately  to  confirm 
that  testimony.  On  the  whole,  there  are  twenty-seven  sep- 
arate writings,  by  eight  different  persons,  partly  historical, 
doctrinal,  practical,  and  prophetic,  all  referring  to  one  great 
subject,  all  gradually  unfolding  or  developing  one  great  sys- 
tem, professedly  the  revelation  of  God  to  man  by  Jesus  Christ, 
and  all  assuredly  published  soon  after  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  the  world.  On  this  bare  statement  of  the 
case,  as  it  is  thus  presented  to  the  world,  and  is  open  to  the 
investigation  of  all  men,  there  are  abundant  means  of  judging 
of  the  credibility  of  the  record,  and  of  deciding  whether  these 
writings  bear  the  marks  of  authenticity  or  of  imposture.  An 
advocate  opposed  to  any  claim  founded  on  documents  like 
these  could  not  wish  for  more  ample  means  of  exposing  any 
fable,  however  cunningly  devised;  and,  with  such  abundant 
materials  for  cross-examination,  he  would  be  little  versant  in 
that  art  who  would  suffer  unauthentic  documents  to  pass 
through  his  hands  without  an  immediate  exposure  and  com- 
plete refutation.  But  seventeen  hundred  years  have  not  suf- 
ficed either  for  detecting  the  fallacy  or  exhausting  the  proofs 
of  the  authenticity  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 

Seeing  that  the  prophets  of  Israel  testified  of  the  Messiah, 
as  well  as  that  the  Christian  scriptures  were  written  by  the 
apostles  and  disciples  of  Jesus,  we  lay  not  aside  the  testimony 
of  God  in  taking  up  the  testimony  of  man.  But  we  inquire 
into  the  credibility  of  the  latter  in  order  to  compare  the  his- 
torical with  the  prophetic  record,  that  it  may  be  seen  how 
the  faith  of  the  gospel  stands  firm  and  immoveable  on  the 
conjoint  and  consolidated  foundation  of  apostles  and  prophets. 
And  for  this  end  a  cursory  glance  may  here  be  given  at  the 
Z  2 


270  OF    THE    AUTHENTICITY    OF 

fulness  of  the  testimony,  and  the  credibility  of  the  witnesses 
of  Jesus. 

To  discuss  at  large  the  fulness  of  the  testimony  which  they 
bear  to  Jesus  as  the  Christ  would  be  superfluous,  if  not  end- 
less labour;  and  were  any  one  to  demand  the  proof,  that 
alone  would  be  equivalent  to  an  admission  on  his  part  that 
he  had  never  read,  if  he  had  ever  opened,  the  New  Testament. 
If  the  witnesses  of  Jesus  have  spoken  truth,  there  never  was 
a  fact  more  completely  demonstrated.  Each  of  the  evange- 
lists has  singly  said  enough  to  show  that  Jesus  was  investe(| 
with  a  Divine  commission,  and  that  the  doctrine  which  he 
taught  must  be  of  God.  And  in  like  manner  as  it  was  de- 
clared to  a  Christian  church  by  one  of  the  writers  of  the  New 
Testament,  that  he  was  determined  not  to  know  anything 
among  them  but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified,  so  they  all 
wrote  as  if  it  had  been  the  determination  of  each  to  make 
Christ  and  his  cause  their  exclusive  theme.  The  separate 
histories  and  epistles  which  came  from  their  pens  comport 
well  with  the  character  and  calling  of  those  who  had  left  all 
and  followed  him.  Witnesses,  in  ordinary  cases,  have  their 
minds  often  distracted  with  the  cares  of  other  things,  and 
yield  but  a  hesitating  assent  to  what  they  lightly  regarded ; 
and  in  the  investigation  of  facts  it  is  not  an  unusual  task  to 
sift  for  a  few  grains  of  evidence  out  of  a  mass  of  irrelevant 
matter.  But  the  Christian  testimony  is  of  another  kind.  All 
that  the  witjiesses  of  Jesus  say  tells  upon  their  cause,  even 
where  at  first  sight  it  may  seem  to  militate  against  it.  Of 
themselves  they  utter  not  a  word  but  in  connexion  with  his 
cause.  And  so  full  is  their  testimony,  that  a  hundredth  part 
of  what  they  have  testified  cannot  be  believed,  without  admit- 
ting that  the  mission  of  Jesus  was  Divine,  and  that  his  reli- 
gion is  of  God. 

As  their  testimony  in  regard  to  all  that  aflfects  the  truth  of 
Christianity  is  most  ample,  so  their  competency  as  witness- 
es, in  respect  to  their  knowledge  of  the  facts,  could  not  in 
any  case  be  exceeded.  The  life  of  Jesus,  during  the  period 
of  his  public  ministry,  may  be  said  to  have  been  public,  or 
open  to  the  inspection  of  all.  He  was  the  author  of  a  new 
religion ;  he  taught  openly  throughout  all  the  region  of  Jn- 
dea;  and  in  secret  he  did  nothing.  But,  besides  the  multi- 
tude of  witnesses  of  his  acts  and  of  the  disciples  who  fol- 
lowed him,  some,  as  if  constituted  a  jury  to  sit  and  judge, 
not  from  the  testimony  of  others,  but  from  all  his  words  and 
actions  as  they  were  immediately  heard  and  seen  by  them- 
selves, were  specially  chosen  to  be  always  with  him.  Wher- 
ever he  went  they  went;  they  were  his  associates  in  private 
as  in  public;  to  follow  him  was  their  first  calling  and  their 
constant  occupation ;  and  it  was  not  to  be  left  even  in  order 
that  a  son  might  go  and  bury  his  father.     And  when  for  once 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  271 

he  sent  them  forth  to  preach  the  gospel,  though  they  were 
not  for  a  t;  ne  the  witnesses  of  his  miracles,  tlicy  were  en- 
dowed witii  a  power  ike  his  own.  The  coAi.'^a  scientm,  or 
means  of  knowledge,  is  an  important  and  esseirLial  point  iu 
the  testimony  of  witnesses.  And  does  it  not  pass  all  other 
example  and  all  parallel  whatever,  that  twelve  men  ^iliOuld 
be  able  to  testify,  from  personal  knowledge,  to  the  a'^tions, 
whether  public  or  private,  of  a  single  individual,  in  a  variety 
of  places,  under  a  variety  of  circumstances,  and  continuously 
^or  years ;  that  they  should  maintain  tlie  word  of  their  tes- 
timony by  their  exclusive  devotedness  to  his  service,  and  by 
their  sufferings  or  theif  death ;  that  not  a  few  of  tliem  -should 
bear  witness  by  their  writings,  aiid  the  only  recreant  among 
them  by  his  despair  siid  suicide?  Of  the  eight  writers  of 
the  books  of  the  New  Tcsiauient,  six  were  apostles.  By 
two  of  them,  and  also  by  iwo  other  witnesses,  the  life  of 
Jesus  is  recorded,  and  the  testimony  concerning  him  is  thus 
doubly  and  repeatedly  strengtliened  and  confirmed.  No  lan- 
guage can  be  more  explicit  or  express  than  that  vjHiich  they 
had  a  right  to  adopt ;  nor  could  a  stronger  assurance  be  given 
than  that  which  they  had  the  power  to  impart.  Mark  was 
successively  the  companion  and  fellow-labourer  of  Paul  and 
of  Peter,  especially  of  the  latter.  Luke,  as  he  affirms,  had 
from  the  first  perfect  understanding  of  all  things  that  were 
most  surely  believed  among  Christians.  The  gospels  by 
Matthew  and  John  are  obviously,  as  Qoming  from  their  hands, 
the  testimony  of  eyewitnesses  and  ministers  of  the  word  : 
"  That  which  was  from  the  beginning,  which  we  have  heard, 
and  which  we  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  which  we  have 
looked  upon  and  our  hands  have  handled,  &c.,  declare  we 
unto  you."  This  is  the  disciple  who  testified  of  these 
things,  and  wrote  these  things,  &c.  They,  and  also  Peter, 
James,  and  Jude,  were  named  and  numbered  among  those 
ahjects,  as  imperial  pride  and  apostate  hatred  chose  to  desig- 
nate them,  who  had  companied  with  Jesus  all  the  time  he 
went  in  and  out  among  thetn,  beginning  from  the  baptism  of 
John  until  the  day  in  which  he  was  taken  up  from  them. 
And  the  very  reproach  which  was  cast  on  Jesus,  because  of 
such  unseemly  consoriship  for  the  Son  of  God,  in  wander- 
ing about  with  such  mean  associates  or  humble  followers, 
elevates  them  in  this  respect  to  the  highest  rank  as  witness- 
es ;  and  because  that  such  was  the  fact,  our  enemies  being 
judges,  their  indisputable  competency  t^  tesiiiy  from  per- 
sonal knowledge,  and  from  actual  observation  and  experi- 
ence, is  apparent,  and  their  qualilication  rind  fitne-ss  for  their 
office  is  thus  enhanced  beyond  the  claims  or  pretensions  of 
ordinary  historians.  The  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  or  the 
principles  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  practice  which  it 
enjoiiis,  as  fu'ly  unfolded  in  the  epistles,  come  directly  from 


272  OF    THE    AUTHENTICITY    OP 

the  hands  of  the  apostles,  and  theirs  alone.  In  the  Nc\» 
Testament  we  see  Ciiristianity  as  it  budded  and  burst  forth, 
and  grew  up  and  spread  widely  un^er  the  eyes  of  the  apos- 
tles. It  is  presented  to  us  in  its  original  and  unalterable 
form  by  those  who  were  first  commissioned  to  preach  it  unto 
the  world.  We  are  not  called  on  to  give  heed  to  any  second- 
hand testimony  as  to  the  facts,  nor  to  any  second-hand  au- 
th(»rity  as  to  the  doctrines.  And  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
being  founded  on  the  facts  of  which  the  waiters  were  eye- 
witnesses, are  guarantied  by  their  testimony  with  an  assu-* 
ranee  of  truth  which  could  not  have  pertained  to  any  system 
of  opinions  detached  from  cognizable  and  confirmatory  facts. 
In  reading  the  scriptures  we  are,  so  to  speak,  brought  up  to 
the  scene  to  see  what  passed,  and  within  the  hearing  of  the 
evangelists  and  apostles  to  listen  to  their  voice.  And,  our 
enemies  being  judges,  we  learn  from  them  the  things  which 
Jesus  said,  as  they  heard  them  out  of  his  own  mouthy  and  the 
things  which  Jesus  did,  as  they  saw  them  with  their  own 
eyes.       #■ 

It  is  manifest  also,  without  the  need  of  any  demonstration, 
that  the  facts  were  of  such  a  nature,  that  while  the  apostles, 
as  well  as,  in  general,  thousands  besides,  had  the  most  di- 
rect and  abundant  means  not  only  of  knowing,  but  of  wit- 
nessing tlieir  actual  reality,  they  could  not  themselves,  by 
any  possibility,  have  been  deceived.  It  was  in  all  things  to 
the  senses  and  not  to  the  imaginations  of  men,  to  their  per- 
ceptions  and  not  to  their  credulity,  that  Jesus  appealed.  The 
truth  of  the  doctrine  was  involved  in  the  things  that  were 
seen.  And  no  enthusiast,  however  ignorant  or  weak,  could 
have  been  deceived  as  to  facts  which  were  of  so  palpable  a 
nature  as  those  which  constitute  the  history  of  Jesus.  There 
may  be  some  "  method  in  the  madness"  of  a  single  individ- 
ual. But  if  it  were  to  be  said  of  all  the  witnesses  of  Jesus, 
as  Festus  said  of  Paul,  that  they  were  beside  themselves  or 
mad,  and  that  they  were  actuated  by  a  blind  and  wild  fanat- 
icism, such  a  charge  is  not  worthy  of  a  hearing,  and  merits 
nothing  but  to  be  retorted  ;  for,  to  pass  over  a  thou-and 
proofs  of  its  inanity,  it  is  utterly  inconceivable  that  the  same 
fiction  could  have  been  framed  or  formed  in  the  minds  of  two 
individuals,  or  that  any  accordance,  bearing  ihc  slightest 
semblance  of  consistency  or  truth,  could  have  been  found  in 
a  multiplicity  of  details  by  various  witnesses  respecting  things 
visible  and  audible,  Avhi<-h  they  had  seen  or  heard.  In  read- 
ing any  part  whatever  of  the  life  of  Christ  or  of  tiie  doctrine 
of  the'gospel,  nothing  can  be  more  obvious,  if  the  state- 
ments be  not  true,  than  that  the  writers  in  such  a  case,suppos- 
able  only  for  argument's  sake,  w,ere  false  witness^  s,  though 
professedly  of  God,  and  that,  a  more  wilful  as  well  as  gross 
im.position  was  never  palmed  upon  the  world.    Mohammedj 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  273 

the  sole  writer  of  the  Koran,  and  sole  witness  on  its  behalf, 
might  possrbly  have  dreamed  of  his  night's  journey  to  heaven, 
and  imagined  the  reality  of  other  fooleries  of  which  the  Ko- 
ran is  full ;  for,  however  absurd  and  self-contradictory,  such 
bounds  do  not  limit  the  extravagance  of  fancy  or  the  chi- 
meras of  an  unsettled  mind.  And  charity  might  suggest  a 
doubt  whether  the  unaccredited  tale  had  its  origin  in  wild 
fanaticism  or  wilful  falsehood.  But  the  testimony  of  the 
witnesses  of  Jesus  was  either  strictly  true  or  consciously 
false.  The  case,  from  its  very  nature,  admits  not  of  any 
other  alternative.  And  their  testimony  stands  for  trial,  wheth- 
er they  faithfully  related  what  they  saw  and  could  not  but 
know,  or  whether,  lost  to  all  sense  of  truth,  and  braving  at 
once  all  the  rage  of  man  and  all  the  wrath  of  God,  they 
leagued  together  to  devise  a  fable,  to  the  manifest  and  con- 
scious destruction  of  themselves  and  of  thousands  who  em- 
braced their  cause. 

The  allegation  that  the  apostles  were  weak  and  ignorant 
men,  who  were  easily  duped  into  the  belief  of  a  fiction,  is  as 
senseless  a  subterfuge  as  any  to  which  a  vanquished  rea- 
soner  ever  betook  himself;  and,  on  the  part  of  all  who  urge 
it,  it  is  a  manifest  proof  that  the  gospel  of  salvation  is  re- 
jected without  the  trouble  of  a  hearing  or  the  expense  of  a 
thought.  Impotent  and  ignorant  of  themselves  they  were, 
till  so  strengthened  with  all  might  that  nothing  could  resist 
them ;  and  so  enlightened  from  on  high,  that  the  wisest  on 
earth  might  have  learned  from  their  lips  :  but  their  own  pow- 
erlessness  was  no  longer  a  reproach  when  paganism  shook 
at  their  touch ;  nor  were  they  any  longer  to  be  rightfully 
stigmatized  as  foohsh  when  they  could  speak  in  a  breath  or 
pen  in  a  sentence  more  knowledge  of  things  spiritual  and 
eternal  than  is  to  be  found  in  the  volumes  of  Plato.  Mean 
as  was  their  calling  and  illiterate  as  they  were,  the  proof 
was  the  more  plain  that  the  power  and  the  wisdom  were 
alike  of  God  ;  and  the  farther  were  they  removed  from  the 
imputation  of  deep,  designing  sublilty,  or  of  any  artful  com- 
bination to  impose  upon  mankind.  But,  whatever  their  nat- 
ural talents  might  have  been,  they  most  assuredly  were  not 
destitute  of  the  sense  and  understanding  common  to  our 
race.  Their  sight  was  as  clear  and  their  hearing  as  acute 
as  that  of  other  men.  They  could  judge  of  what  they  saw, 
and  record  it  as  faithfully  as  if  they  had  been  selected  from 
the  Academy  of  Athens  or  the  Forum  of  Rome.  And  they 
were  no  less  competent  to  judge  of  facts,  and  to  keep  their 
narrative  free  of  all  fiction,  than  they  would  have  been  if 
their  minds  had  previously  been  trammelled  with  all  the  sub- 
tleties of  a  vain  philosophy.  Honest  reporters  of  truth  were 
alone  required,  sufficiently  versant  with  the  facts  and  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  confirm  the  testimony,  however  unprac- 


274  THE    AUTHENTICITY    OF 

Used  ill  art,  or  unrefined  in  manners,  or  unskilled  in  ihosb 
disingenuous  artifices  \vhich  are  not  always  banished  from 
polished  society,  any  more,  at  least,  than  from  the  cabin  or 
the  cot  of  humble  fishermen.  May  not  artless  sincerity,  the 
most  befitting  qualification  of  witnesses,  be  as  rationally 
looked  for  from  such  a  quarter  as  from  any  other  ?  And.  may 
not  those  who  stigmatize  evangelists  and  apostles  be  chal- 
lenged to  adduce  any  other  history  to  outvie  or  rival  theirs 
in  that  essential  quality  ]  Their  own  failings  and  faults  they 
did  not  disguise,  nor  did  they  conceal  the  indignities  to 
which  their  master  was  subjected.  They  agreed  where  im- 
postors never  could  have  agreed,*  and  they  diifered  where 
impostors  never  would  have  differed.  They  assumed  not 
the  office  of  disputants  oY  advocates,  nor  were  they  qualified, 
like  many  other  men,  to  make  "  the  worse  appear  the  better 
reason;"  but  therefore  were  they  the  better  fitted  to  tell 
those  things  which  they  saw  and  heard,  without  the  power 
and  without  the  need  of  garnishing  error  or  dissembling 
truth.  And  so  clear  is  the  credibility  of  the  apostles  and 
witnesses  of  Jesus  in  respect  to  the  absolute  impossibility 
of  their  having  been  themselves  deceived,  that,  obvious  as  it 
is  in  general  to  every  unprejudiced  reader  of  Scripture,  brief 
illustrations  of  the  same  truth  may  be  adduced  in  reference 
to  those  things  concerning  which  their  testimony  might  be 
seemingUj  the  most  questionable,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus, 
his  ascension  into  heaven,  and  his  exaltation  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  majesty  of  God. 

Instead  of  their  being  chargeable  with  credulity,  Jesus,  ap- 
pearing to  the  apostles  as  they  sat  at  meat,  upbraided  them 
with  their  unbelief  and  hardness  of  heart,  because  they  be- 
lieved not  them  which  had  seen  him  after  he  was  risen. f 
Having  witnessed  his  death  and  his  burial,  as  known  to  all 
Jerusalem,  his  own  word,  "Peace  be  unto  you,"  did  not  re- 
assure their  minds  and  becalm  their  spirits ;  but,  when  they 
were  still  troubled,  terrified,  and  affrighted,  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  sight  of  their  eyes,  thoughts  arose  in  their  hearts, 
Jesus  said,  '*  Behold  my  hands  and  my  feet,  that  it  is  I  my- 
self; handle  raeand  see:  for  a  spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones 
as  ye  see  me  have.  And  when  he  had  spoken  thus  he  showed 
them  his  hands  and  his  feet.  And  he  asked  for  meat,  and 
took  it,  and  did  eat  before  them. "J  Rejecting  all  testimony, 
one  of  their  number  then  absent  averred,  "Except  I  shall  see 
in  his  hand  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  finger  into  the 
print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his  side,  I  will  not 
believe."^  What  infallible  proof  could  be  asked  surpassing 
this  demand  of  the  incredulous  Thomas  1     And  what  infal- 

*  See  Paley's  admirable  treatise.  Horcs  Paidince 

t  Mark  xvi.,  )  i .  +  Luke  xxiv.,  39-43.  §  John  xx.,  25. 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES  275 

lible  proof  could  be  given  like  the  answer  of  Jesus,  when  he 
next  again  stood  in  the  midst  of  them,  "  Reach  hither  thy 
finger,  and  behold  my  hands ;  and  reach  hither  thy  hand,  and 
thrust  it  into  my  side  ;  and  be  not  faithless,  but  believing  ?"* 
They  only  believed  because  they  saw.  Ignorant  they  could 
not  be  whether  they  had  gone  down  from  Jerusalem  to  Gal- 
ilee in  order  that,  according  to  his  saying  announced  to  the 
disciples,  they  might  see  him  there.  And  the  very  place  be- 
ing chosen  where  he  chiefly  had  sojourned  and  where  he 
was  best  known,  the  senses  of  men  could  not  be  deceived 
either  in  hi^  appearing  more  publicly  to  many  w^itnesses  or 
privately  to  a  few.  His  appearing  unto  five  hundred  breth- 
ren at  once  was  a  fact,  the  reality  of  which  was  its  own  at- 
testation. And  the  net  which  filled  with  fishes  n.t  nis  word, 
and  yet  was  not  broken,  betokened  the  voice  of  hirn  on  whose 
word  miracles  awaited.  And  after  his  resurrection,  as  be- 
fore his  death,  he  conversed  and  did  eat  with  his  disciples 
on  the  shore  of  Galilee  as  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  And  to 
that  city,  where  the  sacrifice  was  made,  and  from  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  prophets,  the  law  was  to  go  forth,  they  again 
returned.  They  were  commanded  to  wait  there  till  the  prom- 
ise of  the  Father  should  be  fulfilled  and  the  Spirit  be  sent. 
They  could  not  but  know  that  from  hence  they  followed  Je- 
sus by  the  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethany,  as  they  had  often 
followed  him  formerly.  And  when  they  could  no  longer  fol- 
low him,  they  listened  to  his  last  words,  "  Ye  shall  receive 
power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you  :  and  ye 
shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Ju- 
dea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth.  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they 
beheld,  he  was  taken  up;  they  looked  steadfastly  unto  heav- 
en as  he  went  up."t  The  bursting  forth  anew,  after  a  brief 
suppression,  of  the  Christian  religion,  its  first  promulgation 
from  Jerusalem,  and  speedy  prevalence  in  far  distant  re- 
gions, as  Tacitus  records,  show  that  the  apostles  were  the 
witnesses  of  Jesus  according  to  his  word.  And  no  facts 
were  ever  more  cognizable  by  man,  nor  were  any  others 
ever  witnessed  of  greater  actual  influence  and  efficacy  on 
the  world,  than  those  by  which  these  witnesses  must  have 
known  that  Jesus  had  ascended  into  heaven,  and  was  seated 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  Majesty  on  high. 

The  unlettered  fishermen  of  Galilee,  whose  provincial  ac- 
cent betrayed  one  of  their  number  a  few  days  before  in  the 
hall  of  Pilate,  could  not  be  ignorant  that  nothing  but  the  ful- 
filment of  the  promise  of  the  Father  constituted  them  the 
witnesses  of  Jesus  to  all  the  ends  of  the  earth.    They  had 

♦  John  XX.,  24,  27.  fLuke  xxiv.,  50.    Acts  i.,  8-10. 


276  THE    AUTHENTICITY    OF 

Other  proof  than  even  that  of  their  sight,  that,  while  they 
were  all  assembled  in  one  place,  cloven  tongues  like  as  of 
fire  sat  upon  each  of  them.  Not  in  jinmeaning  jargon  or  un- 
intelligible sounds,  which  excited  imaginations  might  prompt 
any  lips  to  enunciate,  but  in  the  native  languages  of  all  who 
were  inen  congregated  in  Jerusalem,  out  of  every  nation  from 
Arabia  and  Parthia  to  Rome,  they  spake  with  other  tongues 
as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance.  The  unfailing  trial,  and 
actual  and  continued  exercise  of  power,  is  an  indubitable 
proof  of  its  reality.  And  when  they  were  endowed  with 
the  gift  of  tongues,  so  adapted,  essential,  and  adequate  to  the 
execution  of  their  divine  commission,  the  apostles  of  Jesus 
personally  experienced  that  the  purpose  for  which  they 
waited  at  Jerusalem  had  been  accomplished ;  that  he  whom 
they  had  seen  ascend  on  high,  as  had  been  prophesied  of  old, 
had,  as  the  same  prophecy  bears,  received  gifts  for  men.  see- 
ing that  they  themselves  had  received  them  according  to  his 
word  ;  and  that  the  sending  of  the  Spirit  was  the  ratification 
of  "  the  promise  of  the  Father,"  as  it  had  been  given  both 
by  his  prophets  and  by  his  Son,  Prophecy  came  not  in  old 
time  by  the  will  of  man ;  but  holy  men  of  God.  as  all  men 
may  know,  spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Yet  an  immediate  and  palpable  illustration  was  not  always 
given  to  them  or  to  others  that  the  word  was  indeed  of  God; 
and  sometimes  they  did  not  even  understand  the  vision,  but 
it  was  sealed  until  the  latter  days,  in  which  the  fulfilment  of 
their  word  testifies  that  they  spake  by  inspiration  of  God. 
But  the  Spirit  was  given  in  another  manner  and  in  a  larger 
measure  to  those  whom  Jesus  sent  forth  to  preach  his  gos- 
pel to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  than  to  those  by  whom  the 
Lord  had  spoken  to  the  people  under  the  law.  And  the  com- 
municated power,  and  its  continued  visible  effects,  as  well 
as  the  original  visible  manifestation,  gave  irrefragable  proof 
that  the  Spirit  which  had  spoken  by  the  prophets  wrought 
mightily  in  the  apostles,  in  a  manner  that  could  not  possibly 
be  misconceived.  Many  signs  and  wonders  were  done  by 
them.  And  they  knew,  as  Jesus  had  told  them,  that  it  was 
hecatise  he  ascended  up  unto  the  Father  that  they  did  the 
"works  which  they  had  seen  him  do.  They  knew  that  the 
power  which  they  themselves  received  was  given  them  by 
Jesus.  And  the  demonstration  of  power  and  of  the  Spirit 
with  which  they  went  forth  unto  the  world  was  unto  them 
a  demonstration  that  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  was 
committed  unto  him ;  in  whose  name  they  could  not  only 
speak  in  every  tongue,  and  command  a  man  lame  from  his 
birth  to  stand  up  and  walk,  but  also  say  unto  the  dead.  Arise. 
Their  speaking  in  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  ut- 
terance, was  the  proof  that  they  were  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.     And  they  communicated  to  others  the  supernatural 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  277 

gifts  which  they  had  received.  One  of  the  most  renowned 
among  them,  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  personally 
experienced  the  efficacy  of  that  miraculous  power  which, 
during  his  ministry,  he  afterward  exercised.  Of  what  events 
could  any  man  be  more  sensible  than  Paul  must  have  been 
of  the  facts  which  attended  his  conversion  :  his  persecution 
of  Christians,  his  commission  from  the  high-priest,  his  jour- 
ney to  Damascus,  his  arrest  at  midday  by  a  light  from  heav- 
en and  by  the  voice  of  Jesus ;  the  question  which  he  asked, 
the  answer  which  he  received,  and  the  command  which  was 
given  him ;  his  sudden  and  entire  blindness,  his  being  led  by 
the  hand  into  the  city,  his  continuing  three  days  without 
sight,  during  which  he  did  neither  eat  nor  drink  ;  his  seeing 
in  a  vision  a  man  named  Ananias  coming  in  and  putting  his 
hand  on  him  that  he  might  receive  his  sight,  the  entrance 
subsequently  of  a  man  into  the  house  where  he  was,  his  ac- 
tual feeling  of  his  hands  put  upon  him,  his  hearing  of  the 
words,  "  Brother  Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,  that  appeared 
imio  thee  in  the  way  as  thou  camest,  hath  sent  me  that  thou 
mightst  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost;" 
the  falling  immediately  from  his  open  and  sightless  eyes  as 
it  had  been  scales ;  his  receiving  sight  forthwith,  and  behold- 
ing with  his  eyes  the  man  whom  he  had  seen  in  a  vision ; 
his  being  baptized,  his  communing  with  those  as  brethren 
whom  he  had  come  to  persecute,  and  his  straightway  preach- 
ing in  the  synagogue  that  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.  What 
clearer  demonstration  was  ever  given  of  any  fact  unto  man 
than  was  thus  given  to  Paul,  that  Jesus  whom  he  had  perse- 
cuted was  the  Lord  with  power  1  And  how  could  he  or  the 
other  apostles  be  deceived  respecting  the  reality  of  the  gifts 
with  which  they  were  endowed,  of  the  miracles  which  were 
wrought  by  their  word,  and  the  miraculous  power  which  was 
communicated  by  the  laying  on  of  their  hands. 

Deceived  they  could  not  be.  And  were  theij  deceivers 
who  renounced  their  former  prejudices,  abjured  their  former 
faith,  and  left  their  former  calling  to  preach  and  to  practise 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross  ;  who  suffered  the  loss  of  all  things 
for  the  sake  of  one  who  had  been  crucified  as  a  malefactor ; 
who,  as  he  had  foretold  them,  were  hated  of  all  men  for  his 
name's  sake ;  who  forsook  all  earthly  friends,  and  forfeited 
all  earthly  blessings  ;  and  who,  if  in  this  life  only  they  had 
hope  in  Jesus,  were  of  all  men  the  most  miserable ;  whose 
lives  were  in  jeopardy  every  hour,  and  whom  bonds  and 
afflictions  everywhere  awaited  1  Were  such  things  ever 
heard  of  as  the  lures  of  hypocrisy  or  the  wages  of  deceit? 
Or  what  shadow  of  a  semblance  exists  between  the  acts  of 
impostors  or  deceivers  and  those  of  the  witnesses  of  Jesus  1 
Were  they  ascetics  who  did  eat  their  bread  with  gladness  and 
joyfulness  of  heart,  who  gloried  in  tribulations  and  rejoiced 
A  A 


278  THE    AUTHENTICITY     OF 

evermore  1  Were  they  misanthropists,  who  lived  as  breth- 
ren, loved  their  enemies,  and,  as  they  had  opportunity,  did 
good  unto  all  men  ?  Were  those  men  devotees,  seeking  to 
work  out  a  righteousness  of  their  own,  who  reprobated  such 
a  thouglit  as  tlie  very  rejection  of  the  gospel  1  Were  they 
self-idolaters,  claiming  heaven  for  their  virtues  or  their  suf- 
ferings, who  were  ready  to  confess  themselves  the  chief  of 
sinners,  and  knew  full  well  that  it  would  profit  them,  nothing 
to  give  their  bodies  to  be  burned,  if  destitute  of  charity 
which  rejoiceth  in  the  truth  1  Or  did  they  seek  to  be  idolized 
by  others,  who  were  held  as  the  offscourings  of  the  earth 
because  of  their  Christian  profession,  and  who,  when  once 
it  was  said  of  them  that  the  gods  had  come  down  in  the 
likeness  of  men,  rent  their  clothes  and  ran  in  among  the 
people,  whom,  with  all  their  might,  they  restrained  from 
doing  sacrifice  unto  them  ]  Or  did  the  hope  of  immortality 
which  the  gospel  reveals  prompt  these  to  deception,  whose 
creed  it  was  that  liars  are  the  children  of  their  father  the 
devil,  and  that  whosoever  loveth  or  maketh  a  lie  shall  in  no- 
wise enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  that  all  liars  shall 
have  their  part  in  the  lake  which  burneth  with  fire  and  brim- 
stone, which  is  the  second  death. 

Amply  elucidated  as  the  authenticity  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment has  been  for  ages,  it  is  needless  to  dwell  on  argu- 
ments which  have  been  reiterated  times  without  number,  and 
which,  on  a  glance  at  the  subject,  must  present  themselves 
to  every  judicious  and  candid  mind.  But  it  may  specially 
be  remarked  that  the  Christian  scriptures,  when  first  penned, 
were  not  set  forth  as  the  oracles  of  a  new  religion,  but  as 
the  record  of  facts  that  were  previously  believed  in  the 
world.  The  truth  of  Christianity  was  attested  by  the  blood 
of  martyrs  before  a  word  of  the  New  Testament  was  writ- 
ten. And  evangehsts  first  wrote  concerning  the  things  which 
were  most  certainly  believed.  The  very  nature  of  the  case 
renders  it  evident  that,  if  imposition  had  been  attempted  by 
the  first  promulgators  of  Christianity,  it  could  not  have  suc- 
ceeded. The  gospel  was  first  preached  exclusively  in  Judea 
by  Christ  and  his  followers,  at  the  very  time  and  on  the  very 
scene  of  the  transactions  in  which  it  originated.  There,  at 
the  very  risk  of  life  and  the  certain  enmity  of  mankind,  it 
was  believed  by  thousands  ;  and  from  thence  it  was  speedily 
propagated  throughout  the  world,  at  a  time  when  frequent 
and  regular  intercourse  subsisted  throughout  the  wide-ex- 
tended provinces  of  the  Roman  empire,  and  when  bigoted 
Jews  and  idolatrous  Gentiles  were  everywhere  opposed  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  cross.  While  the  facts  were  recent,  and 
open  to  tlie  freest  inquiry  and  the  fullest  investigation,  and 
the  alleged  miracles  visible,  and  when  death  was  often  the 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES,  279 

penalty  of  faith,  nothing  less  and  nothing  else  than  the  force 
of  truth  could  constrain  multitudes  to  be  willing  martyrs. 

That  the  witnesses  of  Jesus  did  not  follow  a  cunningly  de- 
vised fable,  but  spoke  the  words  of  truth  and  soberness,  is 
vouched,  as  we  have  heretofore  seen,  by  heathen  records 
and  infidel  arguments,  which,  irrespective  of  testimony  pe- 
culiarly Christian,  serve  the  double  purpose  of  elucidating 
the  fulfilment  of  Old  Testament  prophecies,  and  confirming 
the  authenticity  of  the  New.  The  universal  expectation 
which  prevailed  over  the  whole  East  of  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah  at  the  period  of  the  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian era ;  the  origin  of  Christianity  at  that  time,  derived  from 
Christ  as  its  author ;  the  time  and  the  manner  of  his  death, 
or  the  judicial  sentence  by  which  he  was  cut  otf,  in  the  reign 
of  Tiberius  Caesar,  and  under  the  procuratorship  of  Pontius 
Pilate  ;  the  sudden  and  brief  suppression  of  his  religion ;  its 
speedy  revival  and  rapid  extension ;  its  propagation  from 
Judea,  where  it  first  arose,  throughout  the  Roman  empire ; 
its  prevalence  in  the  capital  of  the  world,  where  it  numbered 
a  vast  multitude  of  adherents  within  the  space  of  thirty  years 
after  the  death  of  Christ ;  the  general  hatred  in  which  Chris- 
tians were  held,  and  the  savage  cruelties  to  which  they  were 
subjected ;  the  scandal  attached  to  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  ; 
the  power  of  the  Gospel,  as  manifested  in  the  disinterested- 
ness, liberality,  patience,  devotedness,  and  mutual  love  of 
primitive  Christians,  the  holiness  of  their  lives,  and  theii 
faithfulness  unto  death,  and  other  peculiarities  of  their  char- 
acter and  condition,  are  all  explicitly  related  on  unexcep- 
tionable authority,  totally  independent  of  that  of  Scripture. 
These  facts  relative  to  the  origin  of  the  Christian  religion 
not  only  accord  most  minutely  with  the  statements  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  involve  many  others,  as  forming  the 
result  of  what  evangelists  and  apostles  historically  relate 
concerning  the  origin,  nature,  and  progress  of  the  gospel ; 
but  these  facts  alone,  our  enemies  being  judges,  exhibit  a  new 
state  of  human  society  unheard  of  before,  a  new  era  in  hu- 
man nature,  a  new  conflict  with  human  passions,  another 
reign  than  that  of  sin  in  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  men ; 
and  thus,  also,  new  phenomena  in  the  moral  world  which 
heathen  moralists  could  not  comprehend,  new  motives  which 
philosophers  confessedly  could  not  gauge,  and  a  new  principle 
which,  without  a  carnal  weapon,  prevailed  in  defiance  of  all 
human  power.  If,  then,  we  would  trace  effects  to  their 
causes,  or  consequences  to  that  which  preceded  them,  we  may 
naturally  look  for  some  history  of  a  new,  extraordinary,  and 
unparalleled  nature,  like  the  facts.  These  facts  are  authentic 
and  indisputable.  And  looking  solely  to  the  acconnts  given 
by  profane  writers  of  the  universal  expectation  at  that  very 
time,  derived  from  the  ancient  books  of  the  Jewish  prophets 


280  THE    AUTHENTICITY    OP 

of  the  rise  of  a  new  kingdom  and  the  coming  of  a  king  from 
among  the  Jews,  to  whom  Nature  herself  was  to  give  birth ; 
of  the  simultaneous  origin  of  Christianity ;  the  manner  of 
Christ's  death  ;  the  novelty,  peculiarity,  and  wonderful  effi- 
cacy and  progress  of  his  religion ;  the  persecution  of  his  fol- 
lowers ;  their  indomitable  zeal  in  propagating  his  faith  ;  their 
immoveable  adherence  to  his  cause  ;  the  counsel  that  was 
taken  against  them  by  kings  and  governors,  and  the  variety 
of  their  sufferings  even  unto  death,  it  may  well  be  averred 
that  those  are  not  very  inquisitive  after  truth  who,  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  prophets  being  visibly  demonstrated,  see  not 
good  reason  from  hence  for  searching  the  Old  Testament 
Scriptures  whether  these  things  are  so,  or  whether  the  proph- 
ets foretold  what  heathens  have  thus  related.  The  proof 
lies  open  to  inspection  that  these  are  express  prophetic  char- 
acteristics of  the  Messiah  and  of  his  cause.  We  read  plainly 
in  prophecy,  and  see  the  counterpart  clearly  in  history,  that 
a  citizen  of  Judea  was  at  that  very  time  to  set  up  his  king- 
dom, and  finally  to  obtain  the  dominion ;  that  the  predicted 
time  "  determined  upon  the  people  and  upon  the  holy  city," 
upon  the  Jews  and  Jerusalem,  was  that  which  was  determined 
also  "  to  finish  the  transgression,  and  to  make  an  end  of 
sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  for  iniquity,  and  to  bring  in 
everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  heal  up  the  vision  and 
prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  most  Holy  ,•"*  that  the  kings  of  the 
earth  would  set  themselves,  and  the  rulers  take  counsel  to- 
ge^ier,  against  the  Lord  and  against  his  anointed  ;t  that  Mes- 
siah the  prince  was  to  come  and  be  cut  off,  but  not  for  himself, 
before  the  city  and  the  sanctuary  should  be  destroyed,  and 
that  the  end  thereof  would  be  with  a  flood,  to  be  succeeded 
by  the  desolations  that  were  determined ;  that  the  Messiah 
would  confirm  the  covenant  with  many,  and  that  the  sacri- 
fice and  oblation,  which  had  been  offered  up  for  ages,  should 
cease,  and  the  desolation  ensue  which  was  to  continue  even 
till  the  consummation ;  and  that,  coincident  with  the  taking 
away  of  the  daily  sacrifice  and  placing  the  abomination  which 
maketh  desolate,  when  the  covenant  should  be  established 
witli  many,  the  people  that  knew  their  God  should  be  strong, 
and  that  they  who  understood  among  the  people  should  in- 
struct many,  and  fall  by  the  sword,  and  by  flame,  by  captivity, 
and  by  spoil  many  days.|  • 

Still  more  abundant  confirmations  of  the  authenticity  of 
the  New  Testament  and  of  the  Messiuhship  of  Jesus  might 
be  drawn  from  the  arguments  of  the  earliest  as  well  as  the 
latest  antagonists  of  the  Christian  faith,  who  thought  that  it 
could  be  reasoned  df)wn  when  no  other  power  could  prevail 
against  it.     The  reader  is  aware  that  these  are  neither  few 

•  Dan.  IX.,  24.  t  Ps.  ii.,  21.  %  Dan.  ix.,  25-27 ;  xi.,  3S. 


THE    NEW    TESTAMENT    SCRIPTURES.  281 

nor  unimportant :  and,  if  anything  can  be  held  as  common 
ground,  it  may  well  be  those  facts  on  which  the  arguments 
of  our  adversaries  are  founded.  If  from  the  earliest  ages 
they  have  reasoned  fi-om  many  Scriptural  truths,  without  the 
povver  of  denial,  or  even  the  expression  of  a  doubt,  then, 
upon  their  own  showing,  these  facts  pertaiii  to  believers  as 
well  as  unto  th<Mn.  And  if  they,  according  to  their  fancy, 
have  tried  from  thence  to  disprove  the  divinity  of  our  faith, 
there  is  no  i^eason  to  restrain  us  from  proving,  according  to 
the  word  of  (rod  by  the  prophets,  that  these  selfsame  facts 
are  demonstrations  that  it  is  Divine.  The  "foolishness  of 
God,"  or  that  which  man  in  his  bhndness  reckons  to  be  folly, 
is  wiser  than  men.  Man  naturally  dwells  in  darkness,  not 
in  light.  Dut  God  dwelleth  in  the  Hght ;  and  in  him  is  no 
darkness  at  all.  "  It  behooved  him  in  whom  are  all  things, 
and  by  whom  are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto 
glory,  to  make  tlie  Captain  of  our  salvation  perfect  through 
sufferings."  And  that  such  was  his  purpose,  prophets  had 
foretold.  But  man,  looking  to  the  things  that  are  seen,  had 
lost  the  right  apprehension  of  things  spiritual  and  divine,  and 
judged  of  ihem  according  to  his  earthly  mind.  To  the  proud 
spirit  of  the  imperious  Roman  nothing  could  seem  more  re- 
volting, and  in  the  view  of  the  speculative  Greek  nothing 
could  appear  more  foolish,  worshippers  as  they  were  of  hero- 
gods,  and  devoted  to  a  splendid  and  attractive  paganism,  than 
that  the  messenger  of  Heaven  should  assume  the  form  of  a 
servant ;  that  a  man  lowly  in  heart  should  be  esteemed  a 
pattern  of  virtue;  that  salvation  to  all  nations  should  come 
from  among  the  Jews,  or  that  the  Son  of  God,  in  appearing 
among  those  who  had  rebelkvl  against  his  Fatljcr,  should 
come,  not  to  take  away  men's  lives,  but  to  lay  down  his  own 
for  their  sakes.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they,  who 
knew  no  glory  but  the  pride  of  life,  took  up  against  Chris- 
tians the  scandal  of  the  cross ;  and  experience  forbids  that 
it  should  be  matter  of  surprise  that  skeptics  respond  uncon- 
sciously to  the  voice  of  prophets.  He  who  has  eyes  to  see 
may  here,  as  elsewhere,  see  how  objections  become  proofs, 
and  how  perversely  arguments  yield  an  opposite  demonstra- 
tion. The  facts  from  which  Christians  were  to  be  confuted 
out  of  their  own  writings  need  not  be  repeated,  but  may  be 
read  in  the  w'onis  of  evangelists  and  prophets,  and  have  their 
just  and  proper  bearing"  on  the  Christian  evidence,  when 
placed  side  by  side  with  the  prophecies,  where  they  harmo- 
niously form  the  testimony  of  the  enemies  as  well  as  the 
witnesses  of  .lesus,  and  the  testimony  which  God  has  given 
of  his  Son.  Pagan  historians  having  recorded  facts  con- 
cerning Christ  which  prophets  beforehand  testified  of  him, 
and  those  very  things  which  chiefly  constitute  the  propheti- 
cally anticipated  history  of  the  Messiah  having  been  adduced 
Aa2 


282  THE    AUTHENTICITY,  ETC. 

and  adopted  by  the  ablest  defenders  of  paganism,  and  the 
genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the  New  Testament,  as  of 
the  Old,  being  confirmed  by  many  Irrefragable  proofs — what 
reason  can  there  be  for  not  completing  the  comparison,  ex- 
cept the  iniquitous  fear  of  conviction  in  the  minds  of  those 
who  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  the  ways  of  the  Lord "? 

The  Christian  religion  exists,  and  its  conformity  with  the 
testimony  of  the  prophets  may  be  tried.  There  is  not  an- 
other book  in  the  world  so  generally  diffused,  or  that  can  be 
read  in  so  many  languages,  as  either  the  Old  Testament  or 
the  New.  The  inspiration  of  the  prophets  is  as  cognizable 
now  by  many  nations  as  it  ever  was  among  any  of  the  tribes 
of  Israel :  for  the  facts  which  confirm  it  pertain  to  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  and  may  be  known  or  seen  by  all  men ; 
and  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus,  whether  their  Divine 
origin  be  admitted  or  not,  are  as  peculiar,  compared  with  all 
that  was  ever  else  taught  by  man,  as  are  the  Jews  among  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  Never  man  spake  like  Jesus; 
never  men  wrote  like  his  apostles.  It  was,  indeed,  a  new 
doctrine  which  they  taught.  It  has  never  been  ascribed  to 
any  other.  It  is  clearly  discriminated  from  all  besides.  The 
doctrines  and  dictates  of  the  gospel  are  known  and  recog- 
nised as  such,  whether  scoffed  at  by  gainsayers  or  believed 
by  Christians.  And  it  stands  up  to  this  day  as  its  own  wit- 
ness, not  only  that  it  is  the  truth  to  those  who  hear  it,  but 
that  it  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Messiah  to  those  who  will  ex- 
amine it.  Unchanged  since  its  origin,  and  ever  unchange- 
able, and  fixed  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  alter  it,  without 
a  thousand  confutations  from  every  quarter,  the  New  Testa- 
ment may  be  compared  text  with  text,  or  word  with  word, 
in  all  its  essential  principles  or  doctrines,  with  the  Old,  in 
order  to  see  whether  it,  and  it  alone,  bears  the  character  of 
the  New  ( -ovenant,  which  was  to  succeed  the  disannulling 
of  the  Old  ;  whether  it  reveals  the  everlasting  righteousness 
which  the  Messiah  was  to  bring  in ;  whether  it  contains  in 
itself  a  germe  of  blessedness  for  "  all  the  families  of  the 
earth ;"  and  whether  its  free  course  and  final  extension 
would  not  be  for  "  the  healing  of  the  nations."  Simply  from 
its  distinctive  character  and  exclusive  marks,  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel  may  be  compared  with  the  testimony  of  the 
prophets  at  the  present  hour,  as  well  as  it  could  have  been 
at  the  time  when  the  men  of  Thessalonica^  with  that  intent, 
searched  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures :  and  every  Gentile 
may  now  inquire,  as  well  as  any  Jew  of  old,  whether  the 
New  Testam<  nt  harmonizes  with  the  Old,  and  whether  the 
latter  confirms  or  confutes  it,  as  either  unfolding  the  prom- 
ised salvation,  or  falsely  pretending  to  be  the  gospel  of  the 
Messiah.  While  the  lapse  of  ages  has  thrown  back  the  light 
of  truth  upon  the  most  ancient  oracles  of  God,  and  while  the 


TESTIMONY  OF  THE  PROPHETS.         283 

gospel  has  survived  all  opposition  for  eighteen  hundred 
years,  the  claim  to  a  fair  comparison  between  the  one  and 
the  other  has  been  strengthened  by  time ;  and  that  com- 
parison, in  respect  to  doctrine,  may  now  be  made  as  com- 
petently as  ever  it  could  have  been  :  and  fearlessly  and  freely 
as  a  Christian  may  here  challenge  any  adversary  of  the 
gospel  to  show  any  discrepance  or  discordance  between  the 
Old  Testament  and  the  New,  he  has  a  right,  on  his  own 
part,  to  take  up  the  one  in  the  one  hand,  and^the  other  in  the 
other,  and,  reading  the  prophetic  annunciations  of  the  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  and  of  the  light  that,  springing  from  Ju- 
dea,  was  to  arise  upon  the  nations  and  to  outlast  the  desola- 
tions of  many  generations,  to  affirm,  these  worcfs  of  Scrip- 
ture, as  well  as  others,  have  been  fulfilled ;  for  while  these 
are  blessings  which  God  did  promise,  this  is  what  God  hath 
given. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TESTIMONY    OF   THE   PROPHETS    TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS. 

Having,  in  a  merely  historical  view,  traced  back  Christian- 
ity to  its  origin,  and  having  seen,  from  the  conjunct  testimony 
of  heathens  and  of  believers,  that  the  New  Testament  which 
we  now  possess  formed  the  original  Christian  writings,  and 
contains  the  record  of  the  history  and  of  the  faith  of  Christ, 
the  demonstration  may  be  speedily  brought  to  a  close,  that 
it  forms,  no  less  than  the  Old,  the  oracles  of  divine  truth,  and 
incontrovertibly  bears  supernatural  attestation  to  the  super- 
natural events  which  it  records;  sufficient  in  all  reason  to 
substantiate  the  doctrine  which  it  contains  as  being,  to  the 
full  assurance  of  the  faith  which  it  exacts,  the  unerring  word 
of  the  living  God. 

We  have  seen  how  the  case  of  experience  against  miracles 
has  been  settled  on  the  confession  of  experience  itself;  and 
we  have  not  only  proof  of  a  miracle,  but,  while  the  natural 
world  produces  evidence  on  our  side,  we  see  that,  as  pertain- 
ing to  sentient  and  rational  beings,  there  is  a  law,  even  a 
written  law,  in  the  moral  world,  and  a  book  of  the  Lord  in 
which  it  is  contained,  to  the  unerring  certainty  of  which 
every  inflicted  judgiiient  gives  attestation  alike  full  and  fear- 
ful, and  which,  in  literal  fulfilment  of  manifold  predictions, 
is  established  by  a  "uniform  and  unalterable  exp  Tience." 

There  being  experience  of  the  truth  of  ct  miracle,  and  that 
God  has  altered  the  laws  which  he  had  made,  the  argument 


284  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

of  our  adversary  is  therefore  inapplicable  to  luS  purpose, 
false  in  principle,  and  only  true  to  its  predicted  character. 
But  there  is  no  experience  that  the  word  of  God  has  re- 
turned to  him  void,  or  has  failed  to  fulfil  the  purpose  for 
which  he  sent  it.  In  the  punishment  of  impenitent  nations, 
the  council  of  the  Lord  stands  confirmed  to  the  world,  as  he 
revealed  it  to  his  servants  the  prophets.  Our  appeal  is  to 
their  testimony.  For  God  surely  has  shown  sufficient  cause; 
by  the  sentence;^  which  he  has  passed  and  executed  on  the 
earth,  according  to  the  verdicts  which  he  pronounced  by 
them,  that  they  have  to  be  heard  as  the  heralds  of  his  great 
salvation,  as  well  as  of  the  desolation  which  came  as  de- 
struction from  the  Almighty.  The  spirit  of  prophecy,  which 
gave  forth  the  anticipated  history  of  the  world,  and  which 
pointed  to  cities  in  their  utmost  desolation  while  yet  they 
blazoned  in  all  the  pride  of  their  power,  hasi  never  -been 
known  to  lie  ;  and  predicted  judgments  have  been  fulfilled 
to  the  very  letter,  till  the  truth  of  every  jot  and  tittle  has 
been  confirmed  by  its  effect.  And  it  would  be  to  gainsay  an 
established  law,  paramount  to  all  human  power,  confirmed 
from  generation  to  generation,  and  still  maintaining  its  irre- 
sistible authority  over  all  the  movements  of  the  poUtical  and 
moral  world,  to  deny  what  the  prophets  have  spoken,  or  to 
maintain  that  the  fallibility  of  human  testimony  is  attacha- 
ble to  the  word  that  is  proved  to  be  Divine. 

The  measure  of  the  iniquity  of  the  .Tews  was  full  when 
they  rejected  and  crucified  the  Lord  of  life,  and  would  not 
know  the  time  of  their  visitation.  But  though  repentance 
would  have  averted  wrath,  no  iniquity  of  theirs,  itself  pre- 
dicted, could  have  frustrated  the  Divine  purpose  of  red«^mp- 
tion  which  was  decreed  from  the  beginning,  and  enunciated 
in  Eden  so  soon  as  sin  had  entered  into  the  world,  and 
was  repeated  from  age  to  age,  in  irrepealable  promises 
and  pledges,  by  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  all  the  prophets  of 
Israel.  On  this  sure  word  of  prophecy — of  the  unchangeable- 
ness  of  which  all  changes  on  earth  give  token,  and  the  sta- 
bility of  which  the  revolutions  of  empires,  and  the  ruins  of 
cities  declare — rests  the  testimony  of  Jesus  ;  and  greatly  is 
that  testimony  traduced  or  disparaged  when  it  is  held  as  en- 
tirely dependant  for  its  validity  on  any  councils  or  actions 
of  men,  or  as  substantiated  solely  by  human  testimony  un- 
accompanied by  Divine. 

The  testimony  of  the  prophets,  by  whose  mouth  He 
spoke,  is  the  testimony  of  God.  Their  word  is  the  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit  by  whose  inspiration  it  was  given. 
They  did  not  speak,  for  they  could  not  have  spoken  as 
they  did,  out  of  the  imaginations  of  their  own  hearts  ;  nor 
could  any  other  voice  but  that  of  the  Lord  give  utterance  to 
those  things  which  they  were  chosen  to  record.     That  his 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  285 

truth  endureth  frcftni  generation  to  generation  is  not  merely 
an  opinion  to  be  believed,  but  a  fact  to  be  seen ;  and,  on  a 
moment's  reflection,  is  as  clear  to  the  mind's  eye  as  are  the 
ruins  of  Babylon,  or  the  empty  dwellings  in  the  clefts  of 
Petra  to  those  who  behold  them,  or  the  sight  of  a  Jew  to 
any  passer-by  in  any  country  under  heaven.  True  is  the 
word  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken^  and  which  he  has  fully 
confirmed  as  his  own  ;  and  the  whole  power  of  this  testi- 
mony still  bears  the  stronger  on  the  Messinhship  of  Jesus, 
as  new  iikistralions  arise  to  the  present  hour  that  ihey  who 
testified  of  him  were  the  prophets  of  the  Highest.  Freed 
as  now  we  are  from  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews,  we  are  nei- 
ther bewiklered  by  the  traditions  of  the  lawyers,  nor  tram 
melled  by  tlie  interpretation  of  the  scribes,  nor  awed  by  the 
judgmeiiT.  of  a  doctor  of  the  law,  nor  biased  by  the  authority 
of  a. covetous  Pliarisee  who  all  looked  for  a  temporal  Mes- 
siah, and,  groaning  as  they  were  under  the  Roman  yoke,  ex- 
pected a  kingdom  of  this  world,  and  hoped,  not  so  much  that 
a  sceptre  of  righteousness  would  finally  be  swayed  over  all 
the  world,  as  that  the  sceptre  of  Judah  would  be  raised 
nbove  that  of  the  Cffisars.  But  with  the  history  of  twenty- 
three  centuries  before  us,  since  the  sealing  up  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures  during  which  period  prophetic  history 
has  run  its  unfailing  and  still  unfinished  course,  and  also 
with  the  whole  Bible  open  to  our  view,  all  the  words  of  the 
prophets  being  not  only  placed  within  our  hearing,  but 
put  within  our  hands,  each  man  who  seeks  for  the  truth 
may  search  for  himself  whether  these  things  are  so  ;  whether 
Jesus  was,  did,  and  suffered  what  the  Messiah  was  to  be, 
to  do,  and  to  bear,  and  whether  those  very  things  recorded 
in  the  New  Testament,  which  skeptics  have  most  cavilled 
at,  be  not  essential  and  clear  credentials  of  the  Divine  ori- 
gin of  Christianity,  the  very  counterpart  of  the  testimony  of 
God  to  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus.  So  far  are  we  from  giving 
heed  to  an  incredible  tale  by  searching  into  the  history 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  that  we  are  looking  only  for  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  word  of  God  by  the  prophets,  the  ful- 
filment of  his  numerous  promises,  and  the  redemption  of 
his  repeated  pledges,  nay,  even  for  the  confirmation  of  tlidt 
oath  which  he  had  sworn.  If  there  be  anything  credible  on 
earth,  anything  resting  on  a  more  sure  word  than  that  of  man, 
anything  of  which  there  was  a  previous  presumptive  proof, 
as  there  hence  actually  was  a  universal  expectation  at  the 
time,  it  is  this.  Men,  in  the  inveteracy  of  their  disbelief 
of  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness,  may  deem  it  wisdom 
to  reject  any  human  testimony  bearing  witness  to  truths 
professedly  Divine.  But  surely  reason  would  be  renounced, 
and  conscience  must  be  seared,  and  man  must  be  held  ac- 
countable for  his  unbelief,  if  the  accredited  testimony  of 


286         TESTIMONY  OF  THE  PROPHEl  S 

God  be  rejected.  And  what  else  than  tMI  veriest  fools  are 
they  vho  are  slow  of  heart  to  believe  ivhai  the  prophets  have 
spoken,  though  set  before  them  by  e^yidence  at  once  complete 
and  unparalleled. 

This  testimony  of  God  by  the  prophets,  which,  according 
to  a  precept  of  Jesus,  forms  among  Christians  a  familiar 
theme,  could  not  be  fully  adduced  and  adequately  illustrated 
in  many  volumes.  But,  like  the  proofs  of  the  inspirniion  of 
the  prophets,  a  simple  jjarallelism,  without  a  word  of  ex- 
planation, may  suffice  to  show  that  the  testimony  is  abun- 
dant, that  the  harmony  is  compute,  and  that  the  Father  him- 
self hath  borne  witness  of  Jesu.h. 

In  thee  (Abraham)  shall  all  The  book  of  the  generation 
families  of  the  earth  be  bless-  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  son  of 
ed.  —  Gen.  xii.,  4.  In  thy  Abraham. — Mat.  i.,  I,  Ye  are 
seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  children  of  the  propliets, 
tht  earth  l>e  blessed. — Gen.  and  of  the  covenant  wliich  God 
xx4i.,  18;  xxviii.,  14;  viii.,  made  with  our  fathers,  saying 
18.  unto  Abraham,  And  in  thy  seed 

shall  all  ilie  kindreds  of  the 
earth  be  blessed. — Acts  iii.,25. 

And  the  Lord  appeared  God,  willing  more  abundant- 
unto  him  (Isaac),  and  said,  I  ly  to  show  unio  the  heirs  of 
will  perform  the  oath  which  promise  the  immutability  of 
I  sware  unto  Abraham  thy  hi»  counsel,  conhrmed  it  by  an 
father:  and  in  thy  seed  shall  oath;  that  by  two  immutable 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  things,  in  which  it  was  inipos- 
be  blessed. — Gen.  xxvi.,  2,4.  sible  for  God  to  lie,  we  might 

have  a  strong  consolation,  &c. 
—Ileb.  vi.,  17,  18. 

As    for    Ishmael,  I   have      Neither,    because    they  are 

heard  thee  ;   but   my  cove-  the  seed  of  Abraham,  are  they 

nant   will   I   establish    with  all  children:  but.  In  Isaac  shall 

Isaac. — Gen.  xvii.,  20,  21.        thy  seed  be  called. — Eom.  ix., 

7,  &c. 

I  am  the  Lord  God  of  Who  are  Israelites  ;  to  whom 
Abraham  thy  father,  and  the  pertaineth  the  adoption,  and 
God  of  Isaac ;  and  in  thee  the  covenants,  and  the  prom- 
(Jacob)  and  in  thy  seed  shall  ises  :  whose  are  the  fathers, 
all  the  families  of  the  earth  and  of  whom,  as  concerning 
be  blessed. — Gen.  xxviii.,  14.  the  flesh,  Christ  came. — Rom. 

ix.,  4,  5. 

Judah,  thou  art  he  whom  It  is  evident  that  our  Lord 
,thy  brethren  shall  praise:  sprang  out  of  Judah. — ^e*.  vii., 
the  sceptre  shall  not  de-  14.  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews, 
part  from  Judah  until  Shiloh  — John  iv.,  22.  The  lion  of  the 
come.  —  Gen.  xlix.,  8,  10.  tribe  of  Judah,  the  root  of  Da- 
The  genealogy  is  not  to  be  vid,  hath  prevailed  to  open  the 
reckoned  after  the  birthright,  book,  &c.—Rev.  v.,  5. 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF   JESUS.  287 

* 

for  Judah  prevailed  above 
his  brethren,  and  of  him  the 
chief  ruler. — 1  Ch.  v.,  1,  2. 

The  Lord  thy  God  will  A  great  prophet  is  risen  up 
raise  up  unto  thee  a  prophet  among  us. — Luke  vii.,  16.  This 
from  the  midst  of  thee,  of  is  of  a  truth  that  prophet  that 
thy  brethren,  like  unto  me  should  come  into  the  vv^orld. — 
(Moses) ;  and  unto  him  ye  John  vi.,  14. 
shall  hearken,  &c.  —  Deut. 
xviii.,  15. 

There  shall  come  forth  a  Esaias  saith,  there  shall  be  a 
rod  out  of  the  stem  of  Jesse,  root  of  Jesse,  and  he  that  shall 
and  a  branch  shall  grow  out  rise  to  reign  over  the  Gentiles, 
of  his  roots  :  There  shall  be  — PMm.  xv.,  12;  Mat.  i.,  5,  16. 
a  root  of  Jesse,  &c. — Isa.xi.,  To  JDavid  also  he  gave  testi- 
1,  10.  mony,  and   said,  I  have  found 

David  the  son  of  Jesse. 
1  have  sworn  unto  David       Of  this  man's  seed  hath  God, 
rriy  servant,   thy    seed    will  according  to  his  promise,  rais- 
I    establish    for  ever. — Ps.  ed  unto  Israel  a  Saviour,  Je- 
Ixxxix.,  3,  4,  27,  &c.     I  will  sus.  —  Acts  xiii.,    23;   ii.,  30. 
raise  unto  David  a  righteous  Luke  i.,  32. 
branch,  &c.  —  Jer.  xxiii.,  5  ; 
xxxiii.,  15. 

It  {the  seed  of  the  ivoman)  When  the  fulness  of  the 
shall  bruise  thy  (the  ser-  -time  was  come,  God  sent  forth 
pent's)  head,  &c. — Gen.  iii.,  his  Son,  made  of  a  tvoman, 
15.  made  under  the  law,  &c. — Gal. 

«  iv.,  4. 

The  Lord  hath  created  a  Then  said  Mary  unto  the  an- 
new  thing  in  the  earth:  A  gel,  how  shall  this  be,  seeing 
woman  shall  compass  a  man.  1  know  not  a  man  ?  And  the 
— Jer.  xxxi.,  22.  Behold,  a  angel  answered  and  said  unto 
virgin  shall  conceive  and  her,  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  come 
bear  a  Son,  upon  thee,   and  the  power  of 

the  Highest  shall  overshadow 
thee  :  therefore  also  that  holy 
thing,  which  shall  be  born  of 
thee,  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
God. — Luke  i.,  34,  35. 
And  shall  call  his  name  Im-  Now  all  this  was  done  that 
manuel. — Isa.  vii.,  14.  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was 

spoken  of  by  the  prophet,  say- 
ing. Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be 
with  child,  and  shall  bring 
forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call 
his  name  Emmanuel,  which, 
being  interpreted,  is  God  with 
us.— Ma^.  i.,  22,  23. 


288  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

« 

Thou,  Beth-lehem  Ephra-      Jesus  was  bom   in   Bothle- 
tah,  though    thou    be    httle  hem  of  Judea,  in  the  days  of 
among  the  thousands  of  Ju-  Hergd  the  king,  &c. — Mat.  ii., 
dah,  yet  out  of  thee  shall  he  1 ;  Luke  ii.,  11. 
come  forth  unto  me  that  is 
to  be  ruler  in  Israel ; 

Whose  goings  f<irth  have  In  the  beginning  was  the 
been  of  old,  from  everlast-  Word :  The  same  was  in  the 
ing. — Micah  v.,  2.  He  shall  beginning  with  God. —  Jo/mi., 
be  called  The  Lord  {Jehovah)  1,  2.  Jesus  Christ  the  same 
our  Righteousness. — Jcrem.  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and  for 
xxiii.,  fi.  ever. — heb.  xiii.,  8. 

Unto  us  a  child  is   born.       The   Word    was   with  God, 
unto  us  a  son  is  given  ;  and  and  the  Word  was  God  :  The 
the  government  shall  be  up-  Word    was    made    flesh,    and 
on    his   shoulder:     and    his  dwelt    among  us. —  John  i.,  1, 
name  shall  he  called  Won-  14.    Unto  you  is  born  this  day, 
derful,  Counsellor,  The  migh-  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
ty  God,  The  everlasting  Fa-  which    is   Christ   the    Lord.— 
ther  (or  the  Father   of  the  Luke  ii.,  11. 
everlasting  age),  The  Prince 
of  Peace,  &c. — Isa.  ix.,  6. 

I  will  declare  the  decree:  We  beheld  his  glory,  theglo- 
The  Lord  hath  said  unto  me,  ry  as  of  the  only  begotten  of 
Thou  art  my  son ;  this  day  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
have  I  begotten  thee. — Ps.  truth — John'\.,lA.  He  shall  be 
ii.,  7.  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest. 

— Luke  i.,  32. 
Awake,  O  sword,  against  Christ  Jesus,  who,  being  in 
my  shepherd,  and  against  the  the  form  of  God,  thought  it  not 
man  that  is  my  fellow,  saith  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God, 
the  Lord  of  Hosts.  —  Zech.  was  made  in  the  likeness  of 
xiii.,  7.  men. — Phil,  ii.,  6,  7.     Great  is 

the  mystery  of  godliness:  God 

was  manifest  in  the  flesh,  &c. 

—1  Tim.  iii.,  16. 

In  the  days  of  these  kings      In  those  days  came  John  the 

(orempires,  of  which  the  Ro-  Baptist,  saying,  Repent  ye,  for 

man  was  the  last)  shall  the  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 

God  of  heaven  set  up  a  king-  hand. — Ma^.  iii.,  1,2.  Theking- 

dom — Dan.  ii.,  44,  dom  of  heaven  is  like  to  a  grain 

of  mustard-seed,  which,  when  it 
is  grown,  is  the  greatest  among 
herbs.— Afa^.  xiii.,  31,  32. 
The  Desire  of  all  nations      Simeon  came  by  the  Spirit 
shall  come,  and  I  will  fill  this  into  the  temple  :  and  when  the 
house  with  glory,  saith  the  parents  brought  in  the  child  Je- 
Lord  of  Hosts. — Hag.  ii.,  7.    sus,  he  blessed  God,  and  said, 
Mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  sal- 
vation, which  thQu  hast  prepa- 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  289 

red  before  the  face  of  all  people 

&c.—Luke  ii.,  27-31. 

I  will  raise  them  up  a  pro-      Jesus    answered    them    and 

phet,  and  will  put  my  words  said,  My  doctrine  is  not  mine, 

in  his  mouth. — Deut.  xviii.,  but  his  that  sent  me. — John  xiL, 

18.  16.     He  whom  God  hath  sent 

speaketh  the  words  of  God. — 

John  iii.,  34. 

And  he  shall  speak  unto      For  I  have  not  spoken  of  my- 

them  all  that  I  shall  command  self;  but  the  Father  which  sent 

him. — Deut.  xviii.,  18.  me,  he  gave  me  a  commandment^ 

what  I  should  say,  and  what  I 

should  speak. — John  xii.,  49. 

All  things  that  I  have  heard  of 

.  my  Father  I  have  made  known 

unto  you. — John  xv.,  15. 

Lo,  I  come  :  in  the  volume      I  came  down  from  heaven, 

of  the  book  it  is  written  of  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the 

me,  I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  will  of  him  that  sent  me. — John 

O  my  God;  yea,  thy  law  is  vi.,  38.     Jesus  saith unto  them, 

within  my  heart. — Ps.  xl..  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of 

7,  8.  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish 

his  work. — John  iv.,  34. 
Who  hath  believed  our  re-  He  came  unto  his  own,  and 
port  (Heb.  hearing,  or  doc-  his  own  received  him  not. — 
trine),  and  to  whom  is  the  John  i.,  11.  Though  he  had 
arm  of  the  Lord  revealed ;  done  so  many  miracles  before 
he  is  rejected. — Isa.  liii.,  1, 3.  them,  yet  they  believed  not  on 

him. — John  xii.,  37. 
For  he  shall  grow  up  be-  He  hath  regarded  the  low  es- 
fore  him  as  a  tender  plant,  tate  of  his  handmaiden:  he  hath 
and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  exalted  them  of  low  degree. — 
ground :  he  hath  no  form  nor  Luke  i.,  48,  52.  Is  not  this  the 
comeliness;  and  when  we  carpenter,  the  son  of  Maryl 
shall  see  him  there  is  no  beau-  and  they  were  offended  at  him. 
ty  that  we  should  desire  him.  — Mark  vi.,  3.  For  unto  you  is 
— Isa.  liii.,  2.  born  this  day,  in  the  City  of  Da- 

vid, a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ 
the  Lord.     And  this  shall  be  a 
sign  unto  you:    Ye  shall   find 
the    babe    wrapped    in   swad- 
dling-clothes, lying  in  a  man- 
ger.— Luke  ii.,  11,  12. 
He  (my  messenger)  shall      Jesus  went   away  again  be- 
prepare  the  way  before  me.  yond    Jordan,   into    the   place 
— Mai.  iii.,  1.     He  shall  turn  where  John   at  first  baptized; 
the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  and  there  he  abode.    And  many 
the  children,  and  the  heart  resorted  unto   him,    and  said, 
of  the   children  to  their  fa-  John  did  no  miracle :    but  all 
Bb 


290         .        TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

thers. — Mai.  iv.,  6.  Prepare  things  that  John  spake  of  this 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  man  were  true.  And  many  be- 
straight  in  the  desert  a  high-  lieve^  on  him  there. — John  x., 
way  for  our  God. — Isa.  xl.,  3.  40,  42. 

Behold  my  servayit  whom  I      He  took  upon  him  the  form 
uphold,  of  a  servant. — Phil,  ii.,  7.     Je- 

sus Christ  was  a  minister  of 
the  circumcision  for  the  truth 
of  God. — Rom.  XV.,  8. 
Mine  elect  in  whom  my  soul      Lo,  a  voice  from  Heaven,  say- 
delighteth ;  ing.  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in 

whom  I  am  well  pleased. — Mat. 
iii.,  17. 
I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon      The  heavens  were  opened 
him. — Isa.  xlii.,  1.  unto  him,  and  he  saw  the  Spirit 

of  God  descending  like  a  dove, 

and  lighting  upon  him. — Mat. 

iii.,  16. 

The  Spirit  ofthe  Lord  shall      He   whom    God    hath   sent 

rest  upon  him. — Isa.  xl.,  -2.     speaketh  the  words  of  God : 

for  God  giveth  not  the  Spirit 
by  measure  unto  him. — John 
iii.,  34. 
The  rulers  take  counsel  to-  We  have  found  the  Messias, 
gether  against  the  Lord  and  which  is,  being  interpreted,  the 
against  his  anointed. — Ps.  ii.,  Christ  (or  the  anointed). — John 
2.  I  have  ordained  a  lamp  for  i.,  41.  I  know  that  Messias 
mine  anointed.  —  lb.  cxxxv.,  cometh,  which  is  called  Christ. 
17.  To  anoint  the  Most  Ho-  This  is  indeed  the  Christ,  the 
ly :  The  Messiah,  The  Prince.  Saviour  of  the  world. — John  iv., 
— Dan.  ix.,  24,  25.  God,  thy  25,  42.  The  high  priest  asked 
God,  hath  anointed  thee  with  him,  and  said  unto  him,  Art 
the  oil  of  gladness  above  thy  thou  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
fellows.  —  Ps.  xlv.,  7;  Isa.  Blessed?  And  Jesus  said,  I  am. 
Ixi.,  1;  Ps.  Ixxxix.,  20,  51;  — Mark  xiv.,  61, 62.  Of  a  truth, 
Mat.  xvi.,  16;  xxvi.,  63,  64;  against  thy  holy  child  Jesus, 
Johnvi.y  69  ;  xi.,27;  Acts  ii.,  whom  thou  hast  anointed,  both 
36 ;  ix.,  22  ;  xvii.,  3.  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with 

the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of 
Israel,  were  gathered  together, 
for  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand 
and  thy  counsel  determined  be- 
fore to  be  done. — Acts  iv.,  27, 
28. 
The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God      There   was   delivered    unto 
is  upon  me ;  because  the  Lord  him  the  book  of  the  Prophet 
hath  anointed  me,  &c.  Esaias  :    and,    when    he    had 

opened  the  book,  he  found  the 
place  where  it  was   written, 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  291 

The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
me,  because  he  hath  anointed 
me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
poor,  &c.    And  he  began  to  say 
unto  them,    This   day  is    the 
scripture  fulfilled  in  your  ears. 
—Luke  iv.,  17-21. 
The  Lord  hath  anointed  me      The  poor  have   the  gospel 
to  preach  good  tidings  unto  (good  tidings)  preached  to  them, 
the  meek  :  — Mat.  xi.,  5.  He  went  through- 

out every  city  and  village, 
preaching  and  showing  the  glad 
tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 
— Luke  viii.,  1. 
He  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  la- 
the broken  hearted,  hour  and  are  heavy  laden,  and 

I  will  give  you  rest. — Mat.  xi., 
28. 
To  proclaim  liberty  to  the  Whosoever  committeth  sin 
captives,  and  the  opening  of  is  the  {dov'kog,  slave)  servant  of 
the  prison  to  them  that  are  sin.  If  the  Son,  therefore,  shall 
bound ;  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free 

indeed.  —  John  viii.,  34,  36. 
Stand  fast,  therefore,  in  the 
liberty  wherewith  Christ  hath 
made  us  free,  and  be  not  entan- 
gled again  with  the  yoke  of 
bondage. — Gal.  v.,  1. 
To  proclaim  the  acceptable  If  thou  hadst  known,  even 
year  of  the  Lord,  thou,  at  least,  in  this  thy  dayt 

the  things  which  belong  unto 
thy  peace. — Lukex\x.,A2.    We 
then,  as  workers  together  with 
I  Christ,  beseech  you  that  ye  re- 

ceive not  the  grace  of  God  in 
vain.  Behold,  now  is  the  ac- 
cepted time ;  behold,  now  is  the 
day  of  salvation.  —  2  Cor.  vi., 
1,2. 
And  the  day  of  vengeance  of  For  the  days  shall  come  upon 
our  God ;  thee  that  thine  enemies  shall 

lay  thee  even  with  the  ground, 
&c.,  because  thou  knewest  not 
the  time  of  thy  visitation. — 
Luke  xix.,  43,  44.  For  these 
be  the  days  of  vengeance,  that 
all  things  which  are  written 
may  be  fulfilled. — Luke  xxi.,  22. 
To  comfort  all  that  mourn  :      Blessed  are  they  that  mourn ; 


892  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

for  they  shall  be  comforted. — 

Mat.  v.,  4. 

To  appoint  unto  them  that      BleSsed    are  ye   when  men 

mourn  in  Zion,  to  give  unto  shall  persecute  you,  &c.     Re- 

them  beauty  for  ashes,  the  joice,  and  be  exceeding  glad; 

oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  the  for  great  is  your  reward   in 

garment   of   praise  for  the  heaven,  &c.,  v.  11,  12.     I  am 

spirit  of  heaviness. — Isa.  Ixi.,  exceeding  joyful  in  all  our  trib- 

1,2,3.  ulation.  —  2  Cor.   vii.,   4.    We 

glory    in    tribulations    also. — 

Rom.  v.,  3. 

The  Spiritofthe  Lord  shall      He  knew  what  was  in  man. 

rest  upon  him,  the  spirit  of  — John  vi.,  25.     All  that  heard 

wisdom  and  understanding,  him  were  astonished  at  his  un- 

the    spirit   of   counsel    and  derstanding    and    answers. — 

might,  the  spirit  of  knowl-  Luke  ii.,  47.     Christ  the  power 

edge,  of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God. 

—1  Cor.  i.,  24. 
And  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord ;      I  will  forewarn  you  whom  ye 

shall   fear:  Fear  him  which, 
after  he  hath  killed,  hath  power 
to  cast  into  hell ;  yea,  I  say  un- 
to you.  Fear  him. — Luke  xii.,  5. 
Christ  was  heard,  in  that  he 
feared. — Heb.  v.,  7. 
And  shall  make  him  of  quick      No  man  was  able  to  answer 
understanding  in  the  fear  of  him  a  word ;  neither  durst  any 
the  Lord ;  man  ask  him  any  more  ques- 

tions.— Mat.   xxii.,   46.     Mark 
»  xii.,  34. 

And  he  shall  not  judge  after      When  thou  wast  under  the 
the  sight  of  his  eyes,  fig-tree  I  saw  thee. — John  i., 

48.    This  poor  widow  hath  cast 
in  more  than  all  they  which 
have  cast  into  the  treasury. — 
Mark  xii.,  43.     Judge  not  ac- 
cording to  the  appearance,  but 
judge    righteous    judgment. — 
John  vii.,  24. 
Neither   reprove    after   the      And    Jesus,   knowing   their 
hearing  of  his  ears  — Isa.  xi.,  thoughts,  said,  Wherefore  think 
2,  3.  ye  evil  in  your  hearts  ? — Mat. 

xi.,4.    He  that  dippeth  his  hand 

with  me  in  the  dish,  the  same 

shall  betray  me. — Mat.  xxvi., 

23. 

He  shall  not  cry,  nor  lift      His  brethren  said  unto  him, 

up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  Depart  hence,  and  go  into  Ju- 

neard  in  the  street.  dea,  that  thy  disciples  also  may 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF   JESUS.  293 

see  the  works  that  thou  doest. 
If  thou  do  these  things,  show 
thyself  to  the  world.  But  he 
went  up  unto  the  feast,  not 
openly,  but  as  it  were  in  secret. 
—John  vii.,  3-10.  When  the 
Lord  knew  how  the  Pharisees 
had  heard  that  Jesus  made  and 
baptized  more  disciples  than 
John,  he  left  Judea,  and  de- 
parted again  unto  Galilee. — 
John  iv.,  1-3.  And  he  charged 
them  that  they  should  tell  no 
man. — Mat.  vii.,  36. 
A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  A  woman  which  was  a  sin- 
break,  ner,  stood  at  his  feet  behind 
him  weeping,  and  began  to 
wash  his  feet  with  tears,  and 
did  wipe  them  with  the  hairs  of 
her  head,  and  kissed  his  feet, 
and  anointed  them  with  the 
ointment.  And  he  said  unto 
her,  Thy  sins  are  forgiveji. 
Thy  faith  hath  saved  thee  ;  ■  go 
in  peace. — Luke  vii.,  38,  48,  50. 
And  the  smoking  (or  dimly  Mary  sat  at  Jesus'  feet,  and 
burning)  flax  shall  he  not  heard  his  word,  but  Martha 
quench. — Isa.  xlii.,  2,  3.  came   to  him  and  said.  Lord, 

bid  her  that  she  help  me  ;  and 
Jesus  answered,  One  thing  is 
needful :  and  Mary  hath  chosen 
that  good  part  which  shall  not 
be  taken  away  from  her. — Luke 
X.,  40,  42.     Him  that  cometh 
unto  me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out. — John  vi.,  37. 
Ho,  every  one  that  thirst-      Blessed  be  they  who  do  hun- 
eth,  come  ye  to  4he  waters,  ger  and  thirst  after  righteous- 
and  he  that  hath  no  money :  ness ;  for  they  shall  be  filled. — 
come  ye,  buy  and  eat;  yea.  Mat.  v.,  6.     Whosoever  drink- 
come,  buy  wine    and   milk  eth  of  the  water  that  I  shall 
without  money  and  without  give  him,  shall  never  thirst,  &c. 
price. — Isa.  Iv.,  1.  — John  iv.,  14.     In  the  last  day, 

that  great  day  of  the  feast,  Je- 
sus stood  and  cried,  saying,  If 
any  man  thirst,  let  him  come 
unto  me  and  drink. — John  vii,, 
37. 
Wherefore  do  ye  spend  mon-  Labour  not  for  the  meat 
Bb2 


294  TESTIMONY    OP   THE    PROPHETS 

ey  for  that  which  is  not  bread?  which  perisheth,  but  for  that 
and  your  labour  for  that  meat  which  endureth  unto  ever- 
which  satisfieth  noti  heark-  lasting^  life,  which  the  Son  of 
en  diligently  unto  me,  and  man  shall  give  unto  you. — John 
eat  ye  that  which  is  good,  vi.,  27.  I  am  the  living  bread 
and  let  your  soul  delight  it-  which  came  down  from  heaven, 
self  in  fatness,  v.  2.  v.  51.     The  words  that  I  speak 

unto  you,  they  are  spirit  and 
they  are  life,  v.  63. 
Incline  your  ear,  and  come  Let  these  sayings  sink  down 
unto  me:  hear,  and  your  soul  into  your  ears. — Luke  ix.,  44. 
shall  hve ;  and  I  will  make  My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and 
an  everlasting  covenant  with  I  know  them,  and  they  follow 
you,  even  the  sure  mercies  me  :  and  I  give  unto  them  eter- 
of  David,  v.  3.  nal  life ;  and  they  shall  never 

perish,  &c. — John  x.,  27,  28. 
Behold,  I  have  given  him  for      For  this  cause  came  I  into 
a  witness  to  the  people. —  the  world,  that  I  should  bear 
Isa.  Iv.,  4.  witness  unto  the  truth. — John 

xviii.,  37. 
Thou  art  fairer  than  the      He  was  transfigured  before 
childreji  of  men ;  them,  and  his  face  did  shine  as 

the  sun,  and  his  raiment  was 
white  as  the  light. — Mat.  xvii., 
2.  Never  man  spake  like  this 
man. — John  vii.,  46.  Truly  this 
was  the  Son  of  God.  —  Mat. 
xxvii.,  54. 
Grace  is  poured  into  thy  All  wondered  at  the  gracious 
lips. — Psalm  xlv.,  2.  words  which  proceeded  out  of 

his  mouth. — Luke  iv.,  22.  Of 
his  fulness  have  all  we  receiv- 
ed, and  grace  for  grace.  Grace 
and  truth  came  by  Jesus  Christ. 
—Johnl,  16,  17. 
Thou  lovest  righteousness,  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of 
him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish 
his  work. — J^n  iv.,  34.  Who- 
soever shall  do  the  will  of  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven,  the 
same  is  my  brother,  and  sister, 
and  mother. — Mat.  xii.,  50. 
And  hatest  iniquity,  v.  7.  He  turned,  and  said  unto  Pe- 

ter, Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan, 
thou  art  an  offence  unto  me  : 
for    thou    savourest    not    the 
•  '  things  that  be  of  God,  but  those 

that  be  of  men. — Mat.  xvi.,  23, 
Then  will  I  profess  unto  them. 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS  295 

I  never  knew  you.  Depart  from 
.  me,  ye  that   work  iniquity. — 
Mat.  vii.,  23. 
He  hath  done  no  violence,  Pilate  said,  I  find  no  fault  in 

this  man. — Ijuke  xxiii.,  4.  Ju- 
das said,  I  have  sinned,  in  that 
I  have  betrayed  the  innocent 
blood. — Mat.  xxvii.,  4.  Holy, 
harmless,  undefiled,  separate 
from  sinners. — Heh.  vii.,  26. 
Neither  was  any  deceit  in  his  Who  did  no  sin,  neither  was 
mouth. — Isa.  liii.,  9.  guile  found  in  his  mouth  :  who, 

when  he  was  reviled,  reviled 

not  again  ;  when  he  suffered  he 

threatened  not. — 1  Pet.  ii.,  22, 

23. 

I  will  set  up  one  shepherd      I    am   the    good    shepherd. 

over  them,  and  he  shall  feed  By  me  if  any  man  enter  in,  he 

them,  even  my  servant  Da-  shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in 

vid,  he  shall  feed  them,  and  and  out,  and  find  pasture.     The 

he  shall  be  their  shepherd,  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life 

— £«eA:.xxxiv.,23.     He  shall  for  the  sheep. — John  x.,  9,  11, 

feed  his  flock  like  a  shepherd.  14.     He  calleth  his  own  sheep 

— Isa.  xl.j  11.  by  name,  and  leadeth  them  out. 

And  when  he  putteth  forth  his 
own   sheep,   he  goeth   before 
them,  and  the  sheep  follow  him, 
&c. — lb.,  ver.  3,  4.     Our  Lord 
Jesus,  that  great  Shepherd  of 
the    sheep. — Heb.   xiii.,  20.     1 
Peter  n.,  25;  v.,  1,  2,  4. 
And  David  my  servant  shall      There  shall  be  one  fold  and 
be  king  over  them  ;  and  they  one  shepherd. — John  x.,  16. 
shall    have    one    shepherd. — 
Ezek.  xxxvii. 

He  shall  gather  the  lambs  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
with  his  arm,  and  carry  them  come  unto  me,  and  forbid  them 
in  his  bosom- — Isa.  xl.,  11.      not.     He  took  them  up  in  his 

arms,  and  put  his  hands  upon 
them,  and  blessed  them. — Mark 
X.,  14-16.     Simon,  son  of  Jo- 
nas, lovest  thou  me — Feed  my 
lambs. — John  xvi.,  15. 
Blessed  is  he  that  cometh      And  a  very  great  multitude 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord. —  spread  their  garments  in  the 
P^fl/m  cxviii.,  26.  way;  others  cut  down  branches 

from   the    trees   ancf   strewed 

Rejoice  greatly,  O  daugh-  them  in  the  way.     Andthemul- 

ter  of  Zion ;  shout,  O  daugh-  titudes  that  went  before,  ana 


296  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

terof  Jerusalem:  behold,  thy  that  followed,  cried,  saying, 
king  comelh  unto  thee :  he  Hosanna  to  the  son  of  David : 
is  just,  and  having  salvation ;  Blessad  is  he  that  cometh  in 

the  name  of  the  Lord ;  Hosan- 
na in  the  highest. — Mat.  xxi.,  8, 

9.  Blessed  be  the  kingdom  of 
our  father  David. — Mark  xi., 

10.  Blessed  be  he  that.cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord. — Mark 
xi.,  9. 

Lowly,  and  riding  upon  an  And  the  disciples  brought  the 
ass ;  and  upon  a  colt  the  foal  ass,  and  the  colt,  and  put  on 
of  an  ass. — Zech.  ix.,  9.  them  their  clothes,  and  they  set 

him  thereon. — Mat.  xxi.,  7. 
The  Lord,  whom  ye  seek.      And  Jesus  entered  into  Jeru- 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  salem,  and  into  the  temple. — 
temple,  even  the  messenger  Mark  xi.,  H.     And  he  taught 
of  the   covenant,  whom  ye  daily  in  the  temple. — jLw^exix., 
delight  in :   behold,  he  shall  47. 
come,  saith  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 
— Mai.  iii.,  L 

The  zeal  of  thine  house  And  Jesus  went  into  the  tem- 
hath  eaten  me  up. — Psalm  pie  of  God,  and  cast  out  all 
l35^x.,9.  He  is  like  a  refiner's  them  that  sold  and  bought  in 
fire ;  he  shall  sit  as  a  refiner  the  temple,  and  overthrew  the 
and  purifier  of  silver,  &c. —  tables  of  the  money-changers, 
Mai.  iii.,  2,  3.  and  the  seats  of  them  that  sold 

doves. — Mat.  xxi.,  12.     When 

he  had  made  a  scourge  of  small 

cords,  he  drove  them  all  out  of 

the  temple. — John  ii.,  15. 

The  eyes  of  the  blind  shall      Go,   and   show  John   again 

be  opened,  and  the  ears  of  those  things  which  ye  do  hear 

the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped  ;  and  see  :  the  blind  receive  their 

then  shall  the  lame  man  leap  sight,  and  the  lame  walk  ;  the 

as  a  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  lepers  are  cleansed,  and    the 

the  dumb  sing. — 7sa.  xxxv.,  deaf  hear;  the  dead  are  raised 

5,6.     Thedeaf  shall  hear  the  up. — Mat.  xi.,  5.     And  Jesus 

words  of  the  book,  and  the  went  about  all  Galilee,  healing 

eyes  of  the  blind  shall  see,  all  manner  of  sickness,  and  all 

out  of  obscurity  and  out  of  manner  of  disease  among  the 

darkness. — Isa.  xxix.,  IS.        people. — Mat.    iv.,  23.      And 

great  multitudes  came  unto  him, 
having  with  them  those  that 
were  lame,  blind,  dumb,  maim- 
ed, and  many  others,  and  cast 
them  down  at  Jesus'  feet,  and 
he  healed  them ;  insomuch  that 
the  multitude  wondered  when 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OP    JESUS.  297 

they  saw  the  dumb  to  speak, 

the  maimed  to  be  whole,  the 

lame  to  walk,  and  the  blind  to 

see  ;  and  they  glorified  the  God 

of  Israel. — Mat.  xv.,  30,  31. 

The  seed  of  the  woman      For  this  purpose  the  Son  of 

thall  bruise  thy  (the  serpent's)  God  was  manifested,  that  he 

headf  might  destroy  the  works  of  the 

devil. — 1  John  iii.,  8.  Foras- 
much, then,  as  the  children  are 
partEikers  of  flesh  and  blood, 
he  also  himself  likewise  took 
part  of  the  same  ;  that  through 
death  he  might  destroy  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death, 
that  is,  the  devil. — Heb.  ii.,  14. 
And  the  God  of  peace  shall 
bruise  Satan  under  your  feet 
shortly. — Rom,  xvi.,  20. 
And  thou  shalt  bruise  his  Then  entered  Satan  into  Ju- 
heel. — Gen.  iii.,  15.  das;    and   he   went   his  way, 

and  communed  with  the  chief 
priests   and  captains   how  he 
might  betray  him  unto  them. — 
Luke  xxii.,  3,  4.     This  is  your 
hour  and  the  power  of  dark- 
ness, 53. 
The  Lord  God  hath  opened      Jesus  went  forth,  and  said 
mine  ear,  and  I  was  not  re-  unto  them.  Whom   seek  ye  \ 
bellious,  neither  turned  away  They  answered  him,  Jesus  ot 
back.     I  gave   my  back    to  Nazareth.     Jesus    saith    unto 
the  smiters,  &c. — /ya.  l.,5, 6.  them,  I  am   he.      They  went 

backward,    and     fell    to     the 
ground.     Then  asked  he  them 
again.  Whom  seek  ye  \     If  ye 
seek  me,  let  these  go  their  way, 
&c. — /oAnxviii.,4-8.     No  man 
taketh  my  life  from  me,  but  I 
lay  it  down  of  myself,  &c. — 
John  X.,  18. 
For  the  Lord  will  help  me ;      And  there  appeared  an  angel 
from  heaven  strengthening  him. 
— Mat.  xxii.,  43. 
Therefore  shall  I  not  be  con-      And  he  said  unto  them,  Be 
founded  ;  therefore  have  I  set  hold,  we  go  up  to  Jerusalem, 
my  face  like  a  flint,  and   I  and  all  things  that  are  written 
know  that   I    shall   not   be  by  the  prophets  concerning  the 
ashamed.  Son  of  man  shall  be  accom 

phshed.: — Luke  xviii.,  31 


298  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

O  my  Father,  if  this  cup  may 
not  pass  away  from  me  except 
I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done. 
— Mat.  xxvi.,  42,  44.  Lukexxii.., 
42. 
Smite  the  shepherd  and  the      Judas  came,  and  with  him  a 
sheep  shall  be  scattered. —  great  multitude   with   swords 
Zech.  xiii.,  7.  and  staves,  &c.     All  the  dis- 

ciples forsook  him  and  fled. — 
Mat.  xxvi.,  4,  8,  5,  6. 
And  I  will  turn  my  hand  upon      Fear  not,  little  flock,  for  it  is 
the  little  ones.  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to 

give  you  the  kingdom. — Luke 
xii.,  32. 
He  was  oppressed  and  he  When  he  was  accused  he 
was  afliicted ;  yet  he  opened  answered  nothing.  Then  said 
not  his  mouth :  he  is  brought  Pilate  unto  him,  Hearest  thou 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter ;  not  how  many  things  they  wit- 
and  as  a  sheep  before  her  ness  against  thee?  And  he 
shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  open-  answered  him  to  never  a  word, 
ed  not  his  mouth. — Z$a.liii.,7.  — Mat.  xxvii.,  12-14.     He  held 

his  peace  and   answered  no- 
thing.— Mark   xiv.,   61.    John 
xix.f  9. 
He  is   despised:  he  was      Then   answered   the   Jews, 
despised,  and  we  esteemed  and  said  unto  him.  Say  we  not 
him  not. — Isa.  liii.,  3.     Thus  well  that  thou  art  a  Samaritan, 
saith  the  Lord,  the  Redeem-  and  hast  a  devil  ? — /oAnviii.,48. 
er  of  Israel,  and  his    Holy  And  Pilate  saith  unto  the  Jews, 
One;  to  him  whom  man  de-  Behold  your  king!     But  they 
spiseth,  to  him   whom   the  criedout,Away  with  him,  away 
nation  abhorreth,  to  a  servant  with  him,  crucify  him. — John 
of  rulers,  kings  shall  arise. —  xix.,  14,  15. 
Isa.  xlix.,  7. 

They  weighed  for  my  And  he  said  unto  them,  What 
price  thirty  pieces  of  silver  ;  will  ye  give  me,  and  I  will  de- 
a  goodly  price  that  I  was  liver  him  unto  you  1  And  they 
prized  at  of  them. — Zech.  xi.,  covenanted  with  him  for  thirty 
12,13.  pices   of  silver. — Mat.   xxvi., 


And  the  Lord  said  unto  Then  Judas,  which  had  he- 
me, cast  it  unto  the  potter ;  trayed  him,  repented  himself, 
and  I  took  the  thirty  pie-  and  brought  again  the  thirty 
ces  of  silver,  and  cast  them  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief 
to  the  potter  in  the  house  of  priests  and  elders,  and  he  cast 
the  Lord. — Zech.  xi.,  13.         down  the  pieces  of  silver  in  the 

temple.  And  the  chief  priests 
took  the  silver  pieces,  and  said, 
It  is  not  lawful  for  to  put  them 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  299 

into  the  treasury,  because  it  is 
the  price  of  blood.     And  they 
took  counsel ;  and  bought  with 
them  the  potter's  field,  to  bury 
strangers  in. — Mat.  xxvii.,  3,  5, 
6,7. 
When  we  shall  see  him      Then  came  Jesus  forth  wear- 
there  is  no  beauty  that  we  ing  the  crown  of  thorns   and 
should  desire  him. — Isa.  liii.,  the  purple  robe.     And  Pilate 
2.  saith  unto  them,  Behold   the 

man ! — John  xix.,  5. 
He  is  rejected  of  men;  When  the  chief  priests,  there- 
we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  fore,  and  the  officers  saw  him, 
from  him. — Ih.^  ver.  3.  The  they  cried  out,  saying.  Crucify 
stone  which  the  builders  re-  him,  crucify  him — Away  with 
jected  is  become  the  head-  him,  away  with  him,  crucify 
stone  of  the  corner.  This  is  him. — John  xix.,  6-15.  They 
the  Lord's  doing  ;  it  is  mar-  had  then  a  notable  prismier  call- 
vellous  in  our  eyes. — Psalm  ed  Barabbas.  The  governor 
xxii.,  23.  said  unto  them.  Whether  of  the 

twain  will  ye  that  1  release 
unto  you  ?  They  said,  Barabbas. 
— Mat.  xxvii.,  16,  21. 

Christ  himself  the  chief  cor- 
ner-stone.— Eph.  ii.,  20. 
He  was  taken  from  prison      Pilate  said  unto  him,  Know- 
and  from  judgment. — Isaiah  est  thou  not  that  I  have  pow- 
liii.,  8.  er    to    release    thee  ?     Pilate 

brought  Jesus  forth,  and    sat 
down    in  the  judgment   seat, 
&c.     Then   delivered  he  him 
unto  them  to  be  crucified.    And 
they  led  him  away. — John  xix., 
10,  13,  16. 
I  gave  my  back  to  the  smi-      Pilate  took  Jesus  and  scour- 
ters  and  my  cheek  to  them  ged  him.    And  the  soldiers  plat- 
that  plucked  off  the  hair ;        ted  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  put 

it  on  his  head.    And  they  smote 
him  with   their   hands. — John 
xix.,  1,  3.     They  buffeted  him, 
and  others  smote  him  with  the 
palms  of  their  hands.  —  Mat. 
xxvi.,  6,  7. 
1  did  not  hide   my  face      And  some  began  to  spit  on 
from  shame  and  spitting. —  him,  and  to  cover  his  face. — 
Isa.  1.,  6.  Mark  xiv.,   65.     They  bowed 

the  knee  before  him,  and  mock- 
ed him,  saying.  Hail,  king  of  the 
Jews !      And   they   spit  upon 


300  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

him,  and  took  the  reed,  and 
smote  him  on  the  head. — Mat. 
xxvii.,  29,  30. 
Many  bulls  have  compass-  They  led  him  away  where 
ed  me :  strong  bulls  of  Ba-  the  scribes  and  the  elders  were 
shan  have  beset  me  round,  assembled :  They  buffeted  him, 
They  gaped  upon  me  with  saying,  Prophesy  unto  us,  thou 
their  mouths  {Heb.,  open-  Christ :  Who  is  he  that  smote 
ed  their  mouth  against  me)  thee'? — Mat.  xxvi.,  57,  67,  68. 
as  a  ravening  and  a  roaring  The  soldiers  of  the  governor 
lion  :  Thou  hast  brought  me  took  Jesus  into  the  common 
into  the  dust  of  death:  For  hall,  and  gathered  unto  him  the 
dogs  have  compassed  me  ;  whole  band  of  soldiers ;  and  they 
the  assembly  of  the  wicked  stripped  him,  and  put  on  him  a 
have  enclosed  me :  I  am  a  scarlet  robe  ;  and  when  they 
worm  and  no  man ;  a  re-  had  platted  a  crown  of  thorns, 
proach  of  men  and  despised  they  put  it  upon  his  head,  and 
of  the  people.  All  they  that  a  reed  in  his  right  hand ;  and 
seek  me'laugh  me  to  scorn,  they  bowed  the  knee  before 
&c. — Ps.  xxii.,  6,  7, 11,  16.    him,  saying,  Hail,  king  of  the 

Jews ! — Mat.  xxvii.,  27,  29. 
O  daughter  of  Jerusalem  :  And  Pilate  wrote  a  title,  and 
behold,  thy  King  comeih  un-  put  it  on  the  cross.  And  the 
to  thee :  he  is  just  and  low-  writing  was,  Jesus  of  Naza- 
ly,  &c. — Zech.  ix.,  9.  Mes-  reth,  the  King  of  thk  Jews. — 
siah  (the  Prince)  shall  be  John  xix.,  19. 
cut  off.— Dan.  ix.,  26. 

They  part  my  garments      Then  the  soldiers,  when  they 
among  them,  had  crucified  Jesus,  took  his 

garments,  and  made  four  parts, 

to   every  soldier  a  part;  and 

also  his  coat : 

And  cast  lots  upon  my  vest-  Now   the   coat    was   without 

ure. — Ps.  xxii.,  18.  seam,    woven    from    the    top 

throughout.  They  said  there- 
fore among  themselves.  Let  us 
not  rend  it,  but  cast  lots  for  it, 
whose  it  shall  be  :  that  the 
scriptures  might  be  fulfilled, 
&c.—John  xix.,  23,  24. 
They  pierced  my  hands  They  crucified  him. — John 
and  my  feet. — Ps.  xxii.,  16.    xix.,    18.     Behold    my  hands 

and  my  feet. — Luke  xxiv.,  39. 

Reach  hither   thy  finger,   and 

behold  my  hands ;  and  reach 

hither  thy  hand,  and  thrust  it 

into  my  side. — John  xx.,  27. 

He  was  numbered  with      A   friend  of  publicans   and 

the  transgressors. — Isa.  liii.,  sinners. — Mat.  xi.,  19.     Pilate 

12.  said  nnto  them.  Whom  will  ve 


TO   THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF   JESUS.  301 

that  I  release  unto  you  1  Ba- 
rabbas  or  Jesus,  which  is  call- 
ed Christ.  —  Mat.  xxvii,,  17. 
Now  Barabbas  was  a  robber. — 
John  xviii.,  40.  Then  were 
two  thieves  crucified  with  him, 
one  on  the  right  hand,  and  an- 
other on  the  left. — Mat. ,  xxvii. , 
38. 
They  gave  me  also  gall  And  when  they  were  come 
for  my  meat ;  unto  a  place  called  Golgotha, 

they  give  him  vinegar  to  drink 

mingled  with  gall :  and  when 

he  had  tasted  thereof,  he  would 

not  drink. — Mat.  xxvii.,  33,  34. 

And  in  my  thirst  they  gave       After   this,   Jesus,  knowing 

me  vinegar  to  drink. — Psalm  that  all  things  were  now  ac- 

Ixix.,  21.  complished,  that  the  scripture 

might  be  fulfilled,  saith,  I  thirst. 
Now  there  was  set  a  vessel 
full  of  vinegar;  and  they' filled 
a  spunge  with  vinegar,  and  put 
it  upon  hyssop,  and  put  it  to 
his  mouth.  When  Jesus,  there- 
''  fore,  had  received  the  vinegar, 

he  said.  It  is  finished. — John 
xix.,  28,  30. 
All  they  that  see  me  laugh  And  they  that  passed  by  rail- 
me  to  scorn  :  they  shoot  out  ed  on  him,  wagging  their  heads, 
the  lip,  they  shake  the  head,  and  saying,  Ah  !  thou  that  de- 
saying.  He  trusted  in  the  stroyest  the  temple  and  build- 
Lord  that  he  would  deliver  est  it  in  three  days,  save  thy- 
him :  let  him  dehver  him,  self  and  come  down  from 
seeing  he  delighted  in  him.  the  cross. — Mark  xv.,  29,  30. 
— Ps.  xxii.,  7,  8.  The  soldiers  also  mocked  him, 

saying,  If  thou  be  the  king  of 
the  Jews,  save  thyself.     Like- 
wise also  the  chief  priests  :  If 
he  be  the  king  of  Israel,  let 
him  now  come  down  from  the 
cross,  and  we  will  believe  him.* 
He  trusted  in  God  :  let  him  de- 
liver him  now,  if  he  will  have 
him ;  for  he  said,  I  am  the  Son 
oi  God.— Mat.  xxvii.,  41-43. 
He  keepeth  all  his  bones,      The  Jews,  therefore,  because 
not  one  of  them  is  broken,  it    was    the    preparation,    be- 
— P^aZm  xxxiv.,  20.    Neither  sought   Pilate   that   their  legs 
shall  ye  break  a  bone  there-  might  be  broken,  and  that  they 
C  c 


302  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

of  (of  the  Paschal  Lamb). —  might  be  taken  away.     Then 

Exod.  xii.,  46.  came  the  soldiers,  and  brake 

the  legs  of  the  first,  and  of  the 

other  which  was  crucified  with 

him.     But  when  they  came  to 

Jesus,   and  saw  that  he  was 

dead  already,  they  brake  not 

his  legs. 

They  shall  look  upon  me      But  one  of  the  soldiers  with 

whom  they  have  pierced,  &c.  a  spear  pierced  his  side,  &c. — 

— Zech.  xii.,  10.  John  xix.,  31,  34. 

He  made  his  grave  with  There  were  two  thieves  cru- 
the  wicked  (or  his  grave  was  cified  with  him. — Mat.  xxvii., 
appointed  with  the  wicked),     38. 

And  with  the  rich  in  his  When  the  even  was  come, 
death  (or  with  the  rich  mart  a  rich  man  of  Arimathea,  na- 
was  his  tomb,  LowtK's  Trans-  med  Joseph — went  to  Pilate 
lation). — Isa.  liii.,  9.  and  begged  the  body  of  Jesus. 

Then  Pilate   commanded  the 

,  body  to    be    delivered  :    And 

when  Joseph   had   taken  the 

body,  he  wrapped  it  in  a  clean 

linen  cloth,  and  laid  it  in  his 

own  new  tomb,  which  he  had 

hewn    out  in  the  rock. — Mat. 

xxvii.,  57,  60. 

A  man  of  sorrows,  and  ac-      Being  grieved  for  the  hard- 

quainted  with   grief.  —  Isa.  ness  of  their  hearts. — Mark  iii., 

liii.,  3.  5.     He  groaned  in  spirit,  and 

was  troubled  —  Jesus  wept. — 
John  xi.,  33, 35.    He  beheld  the 
city,  and  wept  over  it. — Luke 
xix.,  41.     Jesus  began  to  show 
unto  his  disciples  how  he  must 
suffer  many  things  and  be  kill- 
ed.— Mai.  xvi.,  21.     Being   in 
an  agony,  his  sweat  was  as  it 
^  ,     ^     were  great  drops  of  blood  fall- 
ing down  to  the  ground. — Luke 
xxii.,  44. 
We  did  esteem  him  strick-      We  have  a  law,  and  by  our 
en,  smitten  of  God,  and  af-  law  he  ought  to  die,  because 
flicted. — Isa.  liii.,  4.  he   made   himself  the  Son  of 

God. — John,  xix.,  7.  He  hath 
spoken  blasphemy — he  is  guil- 
ty of  death. — Mat.  xxvi.,  65,  66. 
Christ  was  made  a  curse  for 
us :  For  it  is  written,  Cursed 
is  every  one  that  hangeth  on  a 
tree.— Go/,  iii,,  13. 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  303 

Thou  Shalt  make  his  soul      Now  is    my  soul  troubled, 

an  offering  for  sin. — Isa.  liii.,  and  what  shall  I  say,  Father, 

10.  save  me   from   this  hour,  but 

for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this 

hour. — John,  xii.,  27.     My  soul 

is   exceeding   sorrowful,  even 

unto  death. — Mat.  xxvi.,  38. 

My   God,   my   God,   why      My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 

hast   thou  forsaken  me  T —  thou  forsaken  me  T — Mat.  xxvii. 

Psal.  xxii.,  1.  46.     Mark  xv.,  34. 

He  was  cast   off   out   of      He  bowed  his  head  and  gave 
the  land  of  the  living, — Isa.  up  the  ghost. — John  xix.,  30. 
liii.,  8. 

My  flesh  also  shall  rest  in  He  showed  himself  alive  af- 
hope  :  For  thou  wilt  not  ter  his  passion  by  many  infalli- 
leave  my  soul  in  hell;  nei-  ble  proofs.  ^—  Acts  i.,  3.  He 
ther  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  (David)  spoke  of  the  resurrec- 
Holy  One  to  see  corruption,  tion  of  Christ,  that  his  soul 
— Psal.  xvi.,  10.  When  thou  was  not  left  in  hell  (Hades,  the 
shalt  make  his  soul  an  offer-  state  of  the  dead),  neither  his 
ing  for  sin — he  shall  prolong  flesh  did  see  corruption. — Acts 
his_  days. — Isa.  liii.,  10.  ii.,  31.    He  rose  again  the  third 

day,   according  to   the   scrip- 
tures.— 1  Cor.  XV.,  4. 
Thou    hast    ascended   on      He  was  parted  from  them, 
high,  and   carried    up  into  heaven. 

— Luke  xxiv.,  51.  While  they 
beheld,  he  was  taken  up. — Acts 
i.,  9.  After  the  Lord  had  spo- 
ken unto  them,  he  was  received 
up  into  heaven,  and  sat  on  the 
right  hand  of  God. — Mark  xvi., 
19. 
Thou  hast  received  gifts  for  My  peace  I  give  unto  you. — 
men  ;  John  xiv.,  27.   If  I  go  not  away, 

the  Comforter  will  not  come 
unto  you ;  but  if  I  depart,  I  will 
send  him  unto  you. — John  xvi., 
7.  Thou  hast  given  him  pow- 
er over  all  flesh,  that  he  should 
give  eternal  life  to  as  many  as 
thou  hast  given  him.  —  John 
xvii.,  2. 
Yea,  for  the  rebellious  also ;  While  we  were  yet  sinners, 
Christ  died  for  us. — Rom.  v.,  8 
He  that  spared  not  his  own  ■ 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for 
us  all,  how  shall  he  not  with 
him  also  freely  give  us  all 
things  ■? — Rom,  viii.,  32. 


304  TESTIMONY    OF    THE  PROPHETS 

That  the  Lord  God  might  If  a  man  love  me,  Ke  will 
dwell  among  them. — Psalm  keep  my  words ;  and  my  Fa- 
Ixviii.,  18.  ther  wUl  love  him,  and  we  will 

come  unto  him  and  make  our 

abode  with  him. — John  xiv.,  23. 

He  made  intercession  for      Father,    forgive  "them,    for 

the    transgressors.  —  Isaiah  they  know  not  what  they  do. 

liv.,  3.  — Luke  xxiii.,  34.    He  ever  liv- 

eth  to  make  intercession,  &c. 
—Heb.  vii.,  25. 
The  Lord  hath  sworn,  and  We  have  a  great  high-priest 
will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  that  is  passed  into  the  heavens, 
priest  for  ever. — Psal.  ex.,  4.  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God. — Heb. 
He  shall  be  a  priest  upon  his  iv.,  14.  This  man,  because  he 
throne. — Zech.  vi..  13.  continueth  ever^  hath   an  un- 

changeable priesthood.  —  Heb. 
vii.,  24. 
After  the  order  of  Melchis-      After  the  similitude  of  Mel- 
edek  (king  of  righteousness),  chisedec  there  ariseth  another 
— Psalm  ex.,  4.  priest,  who  is  made,  not  after 

the  law  of  a  carnal  command- 
ment, but  after  the  power  of 
an  endless  life.     Such  a  high 
priest    became  us. — Heb.  vii., 
15,  16,  26. 
All  we    like  sheep  have      For  all  have  sinned  and  come 
gone  astray ;  we  have  turn-  short  of  the  glory  of  God. — 
ed  every  one  to  his  own  way ;  Rom.  xxiii.,  12.     Death  passed 
and  the   Lord  hath  laid  on  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
him  the   iniquity  of  us  all.  sinned. — Rom.  v.,   12.     Christ 
He  shall  bear  their  iniqui-  died  for  our  sins  according  to 
ties.     He  bare  the    sins  of  the  Scriptures. — ICor.  xv.,13. 
many. — Isa,  liii.,  6-10,  12.      Who  his  own  self  bare  our  sins 

in  his  own  body  on  the  tree, 
that  we,  being  dead  to  sins, 
should  live  unto  righteousness : 
by  whose  stripes  ye  were  heal- 
ed. For  ye  were  as  sheep  go- 
ing astray :  but  are  now  re- 
turned unto  the  Shepherd  and 
bishop  of  your  souls. —  1  Pet. 
ii.,  24,  25. 
Thou  shalt  make  his  soul  Christ  hath  given  himself  for 
an  offering  for  sin,  ver.  10.       us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to 

God. — Eph.  i.,  2.     He  hath  ap- 
peared to  put  away  sin  by  the 
sacrifice  of  himself. — Heb.  ix., 
26. 
Seventy  weeks  are  deter-      When  the    fulness   of  time 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  305 

mined  upon  thy  people,  and  was  come,  God  sent  forth  his 
upon  thy  holy  city,  to  finish  Son,  to  redeem  them  that  were 
the  transgression,  under  the  law,  &c. — Gal.  iv.,  4, 

5.  For  this  cause  he  is  the 
mediator  of  the  new  testament, 
that  by  means  of  death,  for  the 
redemption  of  the  transgressions 
that  were  under  the  first  tes- 
tament, they  which  are  called 
might  receive  the  promise  of 
eternal  inheritance. — Heb.  ix., 
15. 
To  make  an  end  of  sins,  The    Lamb   of   God   which 

taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world.— /oAn  i.,  29.  The  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ  his  son  cleans- 
eth  from  all  sin. — 1  John  i.,  7. 
To  make  reconciliation  for  All  things  are  of  God,  who 
iniquity,  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself 

by  Jesus  Christ,  and  hath  given 
to  us  the  ministry  of  reconcili- 
ation :  to  wit,  that  God  was  in 
Christ  reconcihng   the   world 
unto  himself,  not  imputing  their 
trespasses  unto  them,  and  hath 
committed  unto  us  the  word  of 
reconciliation.  —  2  Cor.  v.,  19. 
You  that  were  some  time  alien- 
ated and  enemies  in  your  mind 
by    wicked    works,   yet   now 
hath  he  reconciled  in  the  body 
of  his  flesh  through  death,  &c. 
—Col.  i.,  21. 
And  to  bring  in  everlasting      To  present  you  holy  and  un- 
righteousness.— Ban,  ix.,24.  blameable,  and  unreproveable 
in  his  sight.  —  Col.  i.,  21,  22. 
For  this  purpose  the  Son  of  God 
was  manifested,  that  he  might 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil. 
Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth 
not  commit  sin. — 1  John  iii.,  8, 
9.     Every  one  that  doeth  right- 
eousness  is  born  of  him. — 1 
John  ii,,  29. 
When  thou  shalt  make  his      He    became    obedient  unto 
soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he  death,  even  the  death  of  the 
shall  see  his  seed,  he  shall  cross.     Wherefore    God    hath 
prolong  his  days,  and    the  highly  exalted  him,  and  given 
pleasure   of  the  Lord  shall  him  a  name  above  every  name, 
C  c  2 


306  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

prosper  in  his  hand.  He  shall  &c. — Phil,  ii.,  8,  9.  We  see 
bear  their  iniquities.  There-  Jesus,  who  was  made  a  little 
fore  wiU  1  divide  him  a  por-  lower' than  the  angels  for  the 
tion  with  the  great,  and  he  suffering  of  death,  crowned 
shall  divide  the  spoil  with  with  glory  and  honour,  &c. — 
the  strong,  because  he  hath  Heb.  ii.,  9.  Jesus,  the  author 
poured  out  his  soul  unto  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  who, 
death. — Isa.  liii.,  10,  12.  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 

him,  endured  the  cross,  despi- 
sing the  shame,  and  is  set  down 
at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne 
of  God. — Heb.  xii.,  2. 
I  will  make  him  my  first-      Who  is  the  blessed  and  only 
born,  higher  than  the  kings  Potentate,  the  King  of  kings, 
of  the  earth. — Psal.  Ixxxix.,  and  Lord  of  lords. — 1  Tim.  vi., 
27.  15.    Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 

Prince  of  the  kings  of  the 
earth. — Rev.  i.,  5. 
I  will  pour  water  upon  him  In  the  last  day,  that  great 
that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  up-  day  of  the  feast,  Jesus  stood 
on  the  dry  ground ;  I  will  pour  and  cried,  saying.  If  any  man 
my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me, 
my  blessing  upon  their  off-  and  drink.  He  that  believeth 
spring;  and  they  shall  spring  on  me,  as  the  scripture  hath 
up  as  among  the  grass,  as  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow 
willows  by  the  water  cour-  rivers  of  living  water.  But  this 
ses. — Isa.  xliv.,  3,  4.  Living  spake  he  of  the  Spirit,  which 
waters  shall  go  out  from  Je-  they  that  believe  on  him  should 
rusalem. — Zech.  xiv.,  8.  receive,  for   the   Holy  Ghost 

was  not  yet  given,  because  that 
Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified. — 
John  vii.,  37-39.   Behold,  I  send 
the  promise  of  my  Father  up- 
on you :  but  tarry  ye  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  until  ye  be 
endued  with  power  from  on 
high. — Luke  xxiv.,  40. 
And  the  Redeemer  shall      I  will  pray  the  Father,  and 
come  to  Zion,  and  unto  them  he  will  give  you  another  Com- 
that  turn  from  transgression  forter,  that  he  may  abide  with 
in  Jacob,  saith  the  Lord.    As  you  for  ever;  even  the  Spirit  of 
for  me,  this  is  my  covenant  truth ;  whom  the  world  cannot 
with  them,  saith  the  Lord;  receive,  because  it  seeth  him 
My  Spirit  that  is  upon  thee,  not,  neither  knoweth  him,  &c. 
and  my  words  which  I  have  — John  xiv.,  16,  17.     He  shall 
put  in  thy  mouth,  shall  not  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring 
depart  out  of  thy  mouth,  nor  all    things    to    your    remem- 
out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  seed,  brance,  whatsoever  I  have  said 
nor  out  of  the  mouth  of  thy  unto  you,  ver.  26.     The  sword 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  307 

seed's  seed,  saith  the  Lord,  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  tfio  word 
from  henceforth  and /or  eycr.  of  God. — Eph.  vi.,  17. 
—Isa.  lix.,  20,  21. 

Behold,  the  days  come,  Now  hath  he  obtained  a 
saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  more  excellent  ministry,  by- 
make  a  new  covenant  with  the  how  much  also  he  is  the  medi- 
house  of  Israel,  and  with  the  ator  of  a  tetter  covenant,  which 
house  of  Judah,  not  accord-  was  established  upon  better 
ing  to  the  covenant  that  I  promises.  For  if  that  first  cov- 
made  with  their  fathers,  in  enant  had  been  faultless,  then 
the  day  that  I  took  them  by  should  no  place  have  been 
the  hand  to  bring  them  out  sought  for  the  second.  For, 
of  the  land  of  Egypt  (which  finding  fault  with  them,  he 
my  covenant  they  broke,  al-  saith,  Behold,  the  days  come, 
though  I  was  a  husband  un-  saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will 
to  them,  saith  the  Lord) ;  but  make  a  new  covenant,  &c.  In 
this  shall  be  the  covenant  that  he  saith,  A  new  covenant, 
that  I  will  make  with  the  he  hath  made  the  first  old. — 
house  of  Israel:  After  those  Heh.  viii.,  6-13.  For  the  law 
days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  made  nothing  perfect,  but  the 
put  my  law  in  their  inward  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope  did. 
parts,  and  write  it  in  their  By  so  much  was  Jesus  made  a 
heart ;  and  will  be  their  God,  surety  of  a  better  testament. — 
and  they  shall  be  my  people.  Heb.  vii.,  19,  22.  Ye  are  man- 
— Jer.  xxxi.,  31-33.  ifestly  declared  to  be  the  epis- 

tle of  Christ  ministered  by  us, 
written  not  with  ink,  but  with 
the  Spirit  of  the  living  God; 
not  in  tables  of  stone,  but  in 
fleshly  tables  of  the  heart. — 2 
Cor.  iii.,  3, 
It  is  a  light  thing  that  thou      And  he  said  unto  them,  Go 
shouldst  be  my  servant,  to  ye   into    all    the    world,    and 
raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  preach    the    gospel    to   every 
and  to  restore  the  preserved  creature.  —  Mark  xvi.,  15.     A 
of  Israel ;   I  will  also   give  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles. — 
thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gen-  Luke  ii.,  32.     All  power  is  giv- 
tiles,  that  thou  mayst  be  my  en  unto  me  in  heaven  and  in 
salvation  unto  the  end  of  the  earth.     Go  ye,  therefore,  and 
earth. — Isa.  xlix.,  6.    There  iQdiCh.  all  nations. — Mat.  xxviii., 
shall  be  a  root  of  Jesse — to  18,   19.     The    Gentiles,    unto 
it  shall  the  Gentiles  seek,  xi.,  whom  now  I  send  thee,  to  open 
10.     I  will  give  thee  for  a  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them 
covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  from   darkness    to   light,   and 
light  of  the  Gentiles ;  to  open  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
the  blind  eyes,  &c.,  xlii.,  6,  God,  that   they  may   receive 
7.     The  Gentiles  shall  come  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  inher- 
to  thy  light,  Ix.,  3.  itance  among  them  which  are 

sanctified  by  faith  that  is  in 


308  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

me.  —  Acts  xxvi.,  17,  18.     Ye 
were  sometimes  darkness,  but 
now  «re  ye  light  in  the  Lord. — 
Eph.  v.,  8. 
Make  the  heart  of  this  peo-      Paul  and   Barnabas   waxed 

Ele  fat,  and  make  their  ears  bold,  and  said,  It  was  neces- 
eavy,  and  shut  their  eyes,  sary  that  the  word  of  God 
lest  they  see  with  their  eyes,  should  first  have  been  spoken 
and  hear  with  their  ears,  and  to  you ;  but  seeing  ye  put  it 
understand  with  their  heart,  from  you,  and  judge  yourselves 
and  convert  and  be  healed. —  unworthy  of  everlasting  life, 
Isa.  vi.,  10.  I  have  spread  lo,  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles. — 
out  my  hands  all  the  day  un-  Acts  xiii.,  46. 
to  a  rebellious  people,  &c. — 
Isa.  Ixv.,  2 

I  am  sought  of  them  that  And  when  the  Gentiles  heard 
asked  not  for  me ;  I  am  found  this,  they  were  glad,  and  glo- 
of  them  that  sought  me  not;  rifled  the  word  of  the  Lord; 
I  said.  Behold  me,  behold  me,  and  as  many  as  were  ordained 
to  a  nation  that  was  not  called  to  eternal  life  believed. — Acts 
by  my  name. — Isa.  Ixv.,  1.  xiii.,  4,  8.  Be  it  known  there- 
Look  to  me  and  be  ye  saved,  fore  unto  you  (the  Jews),  that 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth. —  the  salvation  of  God  is  sent 
Isa.  xlv.,  22.  unto   the    Gentiles,    and   that 

they  will  hear  it. — Acts  xxviii., 

28. 

The  people  of  the  Prince      He  sent  forth  his  armies  and 

that  shall  come  shall  destroy  destroyed  those  murderers,  and 

the  city,  burned  up   their  city.  —  Mat. 

xxii.,  7.     O   Jerusalem,  Jeru- 
salem, &c.,  behold  your  house 
is  left  unto  you  desolate. — Mat. 
xxiii.,  37,  38. 
And  the  sanctuary ;  There  shall  not  be  left  here 

(of  the  temple)  one  stone  upon 
another,  that  shall  not  be 
thrown  down. — Mat.  xxiv.,  2. 
And  the  end  thereof  shall  be  Ye  shall  hear  of  wars,  and 
with  a,  flood,  and  unto  the  rumours  of  wars,  but  the  end  is 
end  of  the  war  desolations  not  yet.  There  shall  be  great 
are  determined. — Dan.  ix.,  tribulation,  &c.,rcr.  6,  &c. 
26. 

And  he  shall  confirm  the  He  went  throughout  every 
covenant  with  many  for  one  city  and  village,  preaching  and 
week,  ver.  27.  showing  the  glad  tidings  of  the 

kingdom  of  God. — Luke  viii., 
1.  I  am  not  sent  but  unto  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Is- 
rael.— Mat.  XV.,  24.     Thus  it  is 


TO  THE  MESSIAHSHIP  OF  JESUS.  *     309 

written,  and  thus  it  behooved 
Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from 
the  dead  the   third  day;   and 
that  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  in 
his   name   among  all  nations, 
beginning  at   Jerusalem. — Luke 
xxiv.,  46,  47.     They  that  glad- 
ly received  his  (Peter's)  word 
were  baptized:  and  the  same 
day  there  were  added  unto  them 
about  three  thousand  souls,  and 
the  Lord  added  unto  the  church 
daily  such  as  should  be  saved. 
— Acts  ii.,  41,  47. 
And   in  the  midst  of  the       Sacrifice,   and  offering,  and 
weekheshallcause  the  sacri-  burnt-offerings    thou    wouldst 
fice  and   oblation  to  cease,  not.     He  taketh  away  the  first, 
ver.  27.     Sacrifice  and  offer-  that  he  may  establish  the  see- 
ing  thou  didst   not   desire  ;  ond.     After  he  had  offered  one 
burnt-offering  and  sin-offer-  sacrifice  for  sins,  he  for  ever 
ing  hast  thou  not  required,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of 
Then  said  I,  Lo,  I  come  :  in  God ;  by  one  suffering  he  hath 
the  volume  of  the  book  it  is  perfected  for  ever  them  that 
written  of  me,  I  dehght  to  do  are  sanctified. — Heb.  x.,  8,  9, 
thy  will,  O  my  God  :  yea,  thy  12,  14. 
law  is   within   my  heart. — 
Psalm  xl.,  6,  7,  8. 

For  the  overspreading  of  When  ye  therefore  shall  see 
abominations  he  shall  make  the  abomination  of  desolation, 
it  desolate,  even  until  the  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  proph- 
consummation,  and  that  de-  et,  stand  in  the  holy  place, 
termined  shall  be  poured  up-  Then  let  them  which  be  in  Ju- 
on  the  desolate.  —  Dan.  ix.,  dea  flee  unto  the  mountains. — 
27.  They  shall  pollute  the  Ma^  xxiv.,  15,  16.  Thine  ene- 
sanctuary  of  strength,  and  mies  shall  cast  a  trench  about 
shall  take  away  the  daily  sa-  thee,  and  compass  thee  round, 
crifice,  and  they  shall  place  and  keep  thee  in  on  every  side, 
the  abomination  that  maketh  and  shall  lay  thee  even  with  the 
desolate. — Dan.  xi.,  31.  gwund,  and  thy  children  within 

thee  ;  and  they  shall  not  leave 

in  thee  one  stone  upon  another ; 

because  thou  knovvest  not  the 

time  of  thy  visitation. — Luke 

xix.,  43,  44. 

The  people  that  do  know       It  is  given  unto  us  to  know 

their  God  shall  be  strong  and  the  mysteries  of  the  kingdom. 

do  exploits.     And  they  that  — Mat.  xiii.,  11.    Mark  iv.,  11. 

understand  among  the  people  They  went  forth  and  preached 

shall  instruct  many ;  everywhere,  the  Lord  working 


310  •       TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

with  them,  and  confirming  the 

word  with  signs  following. — 

AforA:  jcvi.,  20.   Long  lime  abode 

they   speaking   boldly   in  the 

Lord,   which    gave   testimony 

unto  the  word  of  his  grace,  and 

granted  signs  and  wonders  to 

be  done  by  their  hands. — Acts 

xiv.,  3.     Strong  in  the  Lord  and 

in  the  power  of  his  might. — 

Eph.  vi.,  10.  Many  which  heard 

the  word  believed. — Acts  iv.,  4. 

Yet  they  shall  fall  by  the      Then  shall  they  deliver  you 

sword,  and  by  flame,  by  cap-  to  be    afflicted,  and  shall  kill 

tivity,   and   by  spoil   many  you :  and  ye  shall  be  hated  of 

days. — Dan.  xi.,  33.  all  nations  for  my  name's  sake. 

— Mat.  xxiv.,  9.     For  I  think 
that  God  hath  set  forth  us  the 
apostles  last,  as   it  were  ap- 
pointed to  death.— 1  Cor.  iv.,  9. 
We  despaired  even  of  life,  we 
had  the  sentence  of  death  in 
ourselves. — 2  Cor.  i.,  8,  9. 
Some  of  them  of  under-      What  are  these  which  are 
standing  shall  fall,  to  try  them,  arrayed  in  white   robes?    and 
and  purge  them,  and  to  make  whence  came  they  ?  These  are 
them  white,  even  to  the  time  they  which  came  out  of  great 
of  the  end:  because  it  is  yet  tribulation,  and  have  washed 
for  a  time  appointed.  their  robes,  and   made   them 

white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb, 
&c. — Rev.  vii.,  13,  14. 
And  the  king  shall  do  ac-  The  day  of  Christ  shall  not 
cording  to  his  will ;  and  he  come,  except  there  come  a  fall- 
shall  exalt  himself  above  ev-  ing  away  first,  and  that  man  of 
ery  god,  and  shall  speak  mar-  sin  be  revealed,  the  son  of  per- 
vellous  things  against  the  dition;  who  opposeth  and  ex- 
God  of  gods,  and  shall  pros-  alteth  himself  above  all  that  is 
per  till  the  indignation  be  ac-  called  God,  or  that  is  worship- 
complished ;  for  that  which  ped ;  so  that  he,  as  God,  sitteth 
is  determined  shall  be  done,  in  the  temple  of  God,  showing 
He  shall  magnify  himself  himself  that  he  is  God. — 2Thes. 
above  all. — Dan.  xi.,  35-37.     ii.,  3,  4. 

Thejudgment  shall  sit,  and  Whofh  the  Lord  will  con- 
they  shall  take  away  his  do-  sume  with  the  Spirit  of  his 
minion,  to  consume  and  to  mouth,  and  shall  destroy  with 
destroy  it  unto  the  end. —  the  brightness  of  his  coming. — 
Dan.  vii.,  26.  2  Thes.  ii.,  8. 

He  shall  speak  peace  unto  And  came  and  preached  peace 
the  heathen. — Zech.  ix  ,  10.     to  you  which  were  afar  off,  and 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF   JESUS.  311 

to  them  that  were  nigh. — Eph. 

ii.,  17. 

I  will  raise  unto  David  a      Christ,  who  of  God  is  made 

righteous  branch,  and  a  king  unto  us  righteousness. — 1  Cor. 

shall  reign  and  prosper — And  i.,  30.     The   righteousness  of 

this  is  his  name  whereby  he  God  which  is  by  faith  in  Christ. 

shall  be  called,  The  Lord  (Je Rom.  iii.,  22.    That  we  might 

hovah)  our  Righteousness. —  be  made  the  righteousness  of 
Jer.  xxiii.,  6.  God  in  him. — 2  Cor.  iii.,  9  ;  v., 

21. 
And  he  shall  execute  judg-      A  sceptre  of  righteousness  is 
ment  andjusticein  the  earth,  the  sceptre  of  tny  kingdom. — 
ver.  5.  Heh.  i.,  8. 

In  his  days  Judah  shall  be  For  I  say  unto  you,  ye  shall 
saved,  and  Israel  shall  dwell  not  see  me  henceforth  till  ye 
safely,  ver.  6.  As  for  thee  say.  Blessed  is  he  that  cometh 
also,  by  the  blood  of  thy  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. — Mat. 
covenant  I  have  sent  forth  xxiii.,  39.  Blindness  in  part  is 
thy  prisoners  out  of  the  pit  happened  to  Israel,  until  the  ful- 
wherein  is  no  water. — Zech.  ness  of  the  Gentiles  be  come 
ix.,  11.  in,  and  so  all  Israel  shall  be 

saved,  &c. — Rom.  xi.,  25,  26. 
The  Lord  said  unto  my      Jesus   answered,   How   say 
Lord,  sit  thou  at  my  right  the  scribes  that  Christ  is  the 
hand  until  I  make  thine  ene-  Son  of  David  ?    For  David  him- 
.  mies   thy  footstool. — Psalm  self  said  by  the  Holy   Ghost, 
ex.,  1.  The  Lord  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit 

thou,   &c. — Mark  xii.,  35,  36. 
He  must  reign  till  he  put  all 
enemies  under  his  feet. — 1  Cor. 
XV.,  25.     From  henceforth  ex- 
pecting till  his  enemies  be  made 
his    footstool. — Heh.    x.,    13. 
Whom  the  heaven  must  receive 
until  the  times  of  restitution  of 
all    things,    which    God    hath 
spoken  by  the  mouth  of  all  his 
holy  prophets  since  the  world 
began. — Acts  iii.,  21. 
For  unto  us  a  child  is  born.      Wherefore   God    also    hath 
and  unto  us  a  son  is  given,  highly  exalted  him,  and  given 
the  government  shall  be  upon  him  a  name  which  is  above  ev- 
his  shoulder ;   and   his  name  ery  name  ;  that  at  the  name  of 
shall  be   called   Wonderful,  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow, 
Counsellor,  The  Mighty  God,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things 
The  everlasting  Father,  The  in  earth,  and  things  under  the 
Prince  of  Peace. — Zsa.  ix.,6.  earth;  and  that  every  tongue 

should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ 
is  Lord,  to  the  glory  of  God 


312  TESTIMONY    OF    TUB    PROPHETS 

the  Father.— PAiZ.  ii.,9,  10,11. 

God  set  him  at  his  own  right 

hand 'in  heavenly  places,  far 

above  all  principality,  and  povvr- 

er,  and  might,  and  dominion, 

and  every  name  that  is  named, 

not  only  in  this  world,  but  also 

in  that  which  is   to  come. — 

Eph.  i.,  20,  21. 

Of  the  increase  of  his  gov-      Thou  shalt  bring  forth  a  son, 

ernment  and  p#ace  there  shall  and  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus. 

be  no  end,  upon  the  throne  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be 

of  David,  and  upon  his  king-  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ; 

dom,  to  order  it,  and  to  es-  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give 

tablish  it  with  judgment  and  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  fa- 

withjustice,  from  henceforth,  ther  David:  And  he  shall  reign 

even  for  ever,  ver.  7.  over  the   house  of  Jacob  for 

ever,  &c. — Luke  i.,  31,  32,  33. 
The  kingdom  and  domin-  All  power  is  given  unto  me 
ion,  and  the  greatness  of  the  in  heaven  and  in  earth. — Mat. 
kingdom  under  the  whole  xxviii.,  18.  To  appoint  unto 
heaven,  shall  be  given  to  the  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father 
people  of  the  saints  of  the  hath  appointed  unto  me. — Luke 
Most  High,  whose  kingdom  xxii.,  29.  We  see  not  yet  all 
is  an  everlasting  kingdom,  things  put  under  him. — Heb.n., 
and  all  the  dominions  shall  8.  The  kingdoms  of  this  world 
serve  and  obey  him. — Dan.  are  become  the  kingdoms  of 
vii.,  27.  our   Lord  and   of  his  Christ; 

and  he  shall  reign  for  ever  and 
ever. — Rev.  xi.,  15. 

In  searching  the  Scriptures,  we  see  that  "  these  are  they 
which  testify  of  Jesus.''''  Their  testimony,  that  of  God  by 
whose  inspiration  they  were  given,  is  not  a  question,  but  a 
fact.  The  perfect  uniformity  and  parallelism  between  the 
predictions  relative  to  a  Messiah  and  the  promised  salvation, 
and  to  the  history  of  Jesus  and  the  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  are 
thus  manifest  to  the  sight.  Each  prediction  has  its  counter- 
part in  the  New  Testament,  as  exactly  fitted  to  the  events 
and  to  the  doctrine  as  those  which  marked,  as  in  a  mould, 
the  desolation  of  cities  and  of  countries.  By  those  of  the 
latter  order  the  prophets  showed  what  their  commission  was, 
and  by  those  of  the  former  how  faithfully  and  fully  they  dis- 
charged it.  And  as  the  history  of  the  dispersed  of  Judah 
since  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus,  and  the  fate  of  the  judgment- 
stricken  Babylon,  Edora,  Moab,  Ammon,  Philistia,  and  Pal- 
estine give  ample  verification  of  the  prophetic  word,  the  tes- 
timony of  the  prophets  is  thus  also  seen  to  be  so  clear  and 
so  copious  concerning  the  Messiah,  that,  in  the  one  case  as 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  313 

in  the  other,  he  that  hath  ears  to  hear  may  hear,  and  he  that 
hath  eyes  to  see  may  see. 

The  inspiration  of  the  prophets  being  estabhshed  by  in- 
controvertible evidence  and  existing  facts,  and  the  coming  of 
a  Messiah  having  been  testified  by  them,  we  may  come  and 
see  howr  they  did  testify  of  Christ,  and  of  him  alone  ;  and  as 
assuredly  as  their  word  is  true,  so  at  no  other  time,  in  no 
other  place,  of  no  other  lineage,  and  in  no  other  than  in  the 
same  supernatural  manner,  could  the  Messiah,  who  was  to 
be  cut  off,  have  come,  but  that,  in  each  respect,  which  marked 
the  advent  of  the  author  of  the  Christian  faith.  And  such  is 
the  testimony  which  God  hath  given  of  his  Son,  that  Chris- 
tians may  ask  and  defy  skeptics  to  answer,  Of  what  that 
is  written  concerning  Jesus,  or  that  constitutes  an  essential 
portion  of  a  fundamental  principle  of  the  Christian  faith,  did 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets  testify  1  Do  we  read  in  the  New 
Testament  of  the  humiliation  of  the  Son  of  God,  of  his  divine 
nature  and  of  his  humble  birth,  of  his  mortal  lineage  and  of 
his  heavenly  life,  of  his  immaculate  character,  of  his  incom- 
parable doctrine,  of  his  gracious  words,  or  of  his  marvellous 
works,  of  his  unparalleled  sufferings  and  alike  unequalled  pa- 
tience, of  his  expiatory  sacrifice  and  free  salvation,  of  his 
resurrection  from  the  dead  and  ascension  into  glory,  of  his 
spiritual  kingdom  and  supreme  dominion,  of  his  gifts  to  his 
people,  of  the  promise  of  the  Spirit,  and  of  his  power  to  save, 
of  the  persecution  of  his  followers,  of  an  antichristian  apos- 
tacy  in  his  church,  and  of  the  final  and  glorious  triumph  of 
the  gospel,  we  see  in  all  the  scriptural  record  concerning  Je- 
sus and  his  faith  the  express  confirmation  of  the  words  of 
the  prophets  concerning  the  Messiah,  which  we  already  know 
to  be  divine ;  and  the  fulfilment  of  which  must  be  matter-of- 
fact,  if  the  word  that  is  of  God  does  not  return  to  him  void. 

Abundant  even  as  the  proof  of  their  inspiration  is  the  tes- 
timony of  the  prophets,  for  which  no  completion  can  be  found, 
but  in  the  history  of  Christ  and  in  the  gospel  which  he  preach- 
ed. But  there  the  conformity  is  perfect ;  and  there,  as  every- 
where else,  where  only  it  can  be  rightly  searched  for,  the 
completion  of  every  prediction  is  to  be  found,  with  all  the 
general  truth  and  all  the  minute  particularities,  which  any 
scene  of  predicted  denunciation — even  Babylon  itself — can 
show.  The  subject  matter  of  the  New  Testament  was  first 
spread  over  the  pages  of  inspiration,  penned  by  all  the  proph- 
ets, before  the  testimony  was  committed  even  to  eyewitness- 
es to  record.  To  believe  in  Moses  and  the  prophets,  in  full 
assurance  of  the  truth  of  their  divine  word,  is  to  believe  in 
Christ,  of  whom  that  word  bears  witness.  It  is  the  history 
of  the  promised  Messiah  and  of  the  promised  salvation,  of 
none  other  and  of  nothing  else,  that  the  evangelists  relate. 
Their  narrative  exhibits  to  view  predicted  events,  after  these 
D  n 


314  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

had  been  realized  in  their  proper  time,  place,  nature,  tendency 
and  end.  The  predictions  of  all  the  prophets  concerning  the 
Messiah  are  concentrated,  combined,  and  imbodied  in  the 
person  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  separate  rays  which  sparkle  in 
their  inspired  word  all  rest  in  a  sacred  halo  around  him,  and 
throw  a  light  on  the  whole  gospel  history,  such  as  could  have 
come  only  from  heaven.  On  the  whole  dark  history  of  all 
men  besides  there  rests  not  a  single  ray  of  such  glory.  The 
truths  contained  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures,  whenever 
their  record  is  essential  to  the  confirmation  of  prophecy,  can- 
not be  impeached  without  confronting  the  testimony,  and  de- 
nying the  authority  of  those  who  manifestly  spake  by  inspi- 
ration of  God.  Divinely  authenticated  as  their  word  is,  it  is 
folly,  not  wisdom,  to  be  slow  to  believe  all  that  the  prophets 
have  spoken.  And  they  whose  breath,  like  that  of  the  angel 
which  smote  the  host  of  Senacherib,  no  power  on  earth  has 
been  able  to  withstand,  and  at  the  voice  of  whose  words  the 
mightiest  monarchies  on  earth  have  been  prostrated  to  the 
dust,  proclaim  by  a  voice  from  heaven,  as  the  blood  of  mar- 
t)rrs  cries  from  the  earth,  that  the  life,  and  doctrine,  and 
death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus,  and  all  that  is  written  con- 
cerning him,  expressly  characterize  the  Messiah,  who  died 
and  yet  saw  no  corruption,  who  gave  himself  an  offering  for 
sin,  and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  majesty  of  God 
till  his  enemies  be  made  his  footstool,  and  who  is  the  Saviour 
of  those  who  do  not  reject  such  testimony  nor  neglect  so 
great  salvation,  but  believe  in  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  in 
Him  of  whom  they  all  did  testify. 

Unbelievers,  intent  on  earthly  things  and  Winded  to  thmgs 
spiritual,  and  not  seeking  to  know  the  good  ways  of  the  Lord, 
have  rejected  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  as  incredible,  from 
their  not  being  adapted  to  draw  the  carnal  eye ;  and  they 
have  denied  the  validity  of  any  human  testimony  to  substan- 
tiate the  truth  of  the  New  Testament  record.  But,  in  very 
truth,  had  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  been  other  than  they 
are,  and  had  not  Jesus  of  Nazareth  been  the  Author  of  the 
new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and  endowed  with  wisdom  and 
power  alike  divine,  he  would  then  have  wanted  the  essen- 
tial credentials  of  the  Messiah ;  faith  in  him  would  have  been 
an  utter  delusion,  and  his  place  would  have  been  among  those 
/alse  Christs,  in  whom  the  Jews  did  believe,  while  they  were 
guided  by  their  prejudices  and  passions,  and  gave  heed  to 
ifimcies  or  fables  of  human  invention  rather  than  to  the 
testimony  of  God  by  the  prophets.  The  doctrines  of  the 
gospel  are  made  their  own  credentials.  For  however  far 
they  surpass  what  it  could  have  ever  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man  to  conceive,  showing  that  God's  ways  are  high  above 
our  ways,  and  his  thoughts  above  our  thoughts,  they  are  not 
only  the  farther  removed  from  all  suspicion  of  having  ori- 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  315 

ginated  in  man's  wisdom  or  device,  but  the  more  completely 
do  they  accord  with  these  declarations  of  the  prophets  ;  and, 
by  the  surest  token  that  they  form  the  whole  counsel  of  God, 
they  reach  in  exact  measurement  and  in  every  particular, 
without  in  any  case  either  the  slightest  shortcoming  or  ex- 
cess, the  full  and  precise  standard  which  God  had  set  up  as 
the  rule — his  own  declared  purpose  in  his  infallible  word — 
by  which  they  might  rightly  be  tried. 

The  word  that  unfolds  the  faith  of  Jesus  has  doubly  a  wit- 
ness of  itself.  It  challenges  belief  both  as  that  which  is  right, 
and  as  that  which  the  prophets  had  testified  aforehand.  It 
is  a  doctrine  according  to  godliness.  Its  ethics  are  the  pu- 
rest that  ever  were  heard  of ;  and  its  motives  alone,  when  felt 
in  the  heart,  can  reahze  them  in  the  life.  The  moralists  ot 
Athens  were  professors  of  an  art,  but  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was 
a  teacher  of  righteousness.  He  was  the  anatomist  of  the 
soul,  who  laid  bare  its  secret  thoughts,  and  his  word  is  quick 
and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword,  reach- 
ing to  the  dividing  asunder  of  the  soul  and  spirit,  and  is  a 
discerner  of  the  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart.  But  he 
is  also  the  physician  of  souls,  and  sin,  the  spiritual  malady 
which  worketh  death,  as  it  has  brought  desolation,  can  be 
eradicated  only  by  his  word,  which  is  spirit  and  is  life.  The 
perfect  adaptation  of  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  to  the  ren- 
ovation of  our  moral  nature,  or  its  efficacy,  when  hid  in  the 
heart,  to  leaven  the  whole,  could  not  be  adequately  touched 
on  in  a  concluding  page.  But  while  we  here  see  before  us 
the  testimony  of  the  prophets  to  the  identical  truths  record- 
ed in  the  New  Testament,  and  how  these  are  indented  into 
one  as  forming  the  completion  of  the  Old,  an  illustration  or 
two  may  be  adduced  by  way  of  example,  to  show  the  Divine 
corroboration  which  is  given  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy  to  the 
faith  of  Jesus. 

The  marks  of  its  Divine  origin,  which  are  visible  in  the 
whole  of  the  Christian  faith,  as  well  as  sealed  by  that  Spirit, 
are  in  nothing  more  marked,  and  bright,  and  diking  than  in 
the  character  of  its  Author.  The  man  Christ  Jesus,  i.  e., 
the  anointed  Saviour,  stands  alone,  among  all  the  thousands 
of  millions  of  our  race,  a  pattern  of  absolute  perfection,  a 
man  without  sin,  in  whom  Satan  had  nothing,  a  man  of 
whom  alone  it  can  be  said  that  he  fulfilled  all  righteousness. 
Surveying  the  whole  of  human  nature  in  its  ruins,  from  its 
fall  unto  the  present  day,  there  is  not  to  be  seen  another 
column,  resting  on  its  own  base,  that  rises  high  above  them 
all,  and,  without  inclining  a  hair's-breadth  to  any  side,  points 
straight  upward  to  heaven.  All  else  lay  prostrate  in  the 
dust,  to  which  the  soul  of  man  now  naturally  cleaves.  The 
imaginations  of  man's  heart,  saithHe  who  spake  by  the  proph- 
ets, is  evil.     It  is  human  to  err,  was  an  adage  among  the 


316        TESTIMONY  OF  THE  PROPHETS 

heathen.  And  as  man,  after  the  image  of  God  was  defaced 
from  his  soul,  lost  the  faculty  of  even  describing  or  conceiv- 
ing a  sinless  and  righteous  mortal,  such  a  character  was  never 
drawn,  and  is  nowhere  to  be  found  but  as  it  is  set  forth  unto 
the  world  in  the  history  of  Jesus.  The  fancy  of  man  could 
paint  cruel  and  carnal  deities  opposed  in  fierce  contention ; 
but  it  entered  not  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  that  the 
well-beloved  of  the  Father  would  be  manifested  in  the  flesh 
to  personify  virtue  and  to  make  an  end  of  sins.  The  world 
by  wisdom  knew  not  God.  And  to  whom,  it  may  be  asked, 
shall  we  liken  Christ,  or  what  likeness  shall  we  compare 
unto  him  ?  The  gods  of  the  heathens,  whom  men  called  im- 
mortals, were  bloated  with  vices  of  which  none  but  a  hypo- 
crite could  be  guilty,  if  he  names  the  name  of  Jesus.  Un- 
spotted as  he  was  with  the  least  taint  of  their  vices,  not  all 
the  virtues  of  all  the  gods  could  bear  a  momentary  compar- 
ison with  the  righteousness  of  Christ.  And  looking  singly 
to  the  exercise  of  his  supernatural  power,  ministering  to 
goodness  no  less  divine,  does  not  the  life  of  Jesus,  as  penned 
by  evangelists,  rise  in  moral  sublimity  far  beyond  all  the 
fancied  actions  of  fabled  deities,  and  show  that  he  who  was 
cradled  in  a  manger  and  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head  was 
yet  in  a  more  glorious  form  than  theirs  the  Son  of  God  with 
power "?  Mercury,  the  winged  messenger  of  the  gods,  could 
not  anticipate  the  march  of  time  and  tell  of  coming  judg- 
ments. Nor  could  Argus  with  his  hundred  eyes  look  into 
the  heart,  perceive  the  thoughts,  and  tell  what  was  in  man. 
Neptune,  riding  on  the  stormy  billow,  must  sink  beneath  his 
waves  at  the  voice  of  Jesus,  rising  from  his  tranquil  sleep  in 
the  tempest-tossed  vessel,  and  saying  to  the  stormy  sea. 
Peace,  be  still.  Jupiter,  with  his  voice  of  thunder,  could 
never  speak  to  the  conscience  with  half  the  efficacy  which 
a  word  of  Jesus  gave  to  the  crowing  of  a  cock  :  nor  could 
the  unerring  dart  of  Apollo  pierce  the  soul  like  a  glance  of 
Jesus's  eye,  accompanied  by  so  familiar  a  sound.  Mars,  the 
god  of  war,  had  neither  the  will,  the  courage,  nor  the  power 
to  resist  his  master,  who  is  a  murderer  from  the  beginning : 
and  his  sword  was  but  the  badge  of  slavery  to  him,  who  fell 
like  lightning  from  heaven  at  the  word  of  Jesus,  and  to  whom 
he  said,  while  a  hungered  in  the  wilderness,  Get  thee  behind 
me,  Satan.  The  counsel  of  all  heathen  gods  could  not  pass 
the  decrees  which  came  with  effect  in  two  words  from  the 
lips  of  Christ,  Young  man,  arise  !  Young  maid,  arise !  Laz- 
arus, come  forth  !  and  the  dead  arose,  and  the  buried  obeyed. 
Heathens  could  mould  a  statue  in  the  human  form,  but  they 
could  not  invest  their  gods  with  a  divinity  such  as  ever  rest- 
ed on  Jesus,  nor,  with  all  the  powers  of  creative  fancy,  could* 
they  draw  the  likeness  of  one  who,  acting  among  men,  could 
sustain  the  character  of  the  Son  of  God,  to  whom  every  knee 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  317 

should  bow.  But  there  once  were  worshippers  of  the  one 
living  and  true  God,  whose  name  was  known  and  whose 
word  was  heard  in  Israel,  that  excelled  in  virtue  the  ima- 
ginary deities  before  whose  images  all  men  else  were  pros- 
trated. But  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  God  is  greater  than 
they.  Even  patriarchs  and  prophets,  though  termed  holy 
men,  were  not  without  some  dark  lineaments  of  a  sinfu 
race.  Noah,  Daniel,  and  Job  are  pre-eminently  distinguished 
in  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  for  their  righteousness: 
but  in  the  word  of  that  God  before  whom  all  things  are  na- 
ked and  open,  their  faults  are  not  hid.  Scarcely  had  the 
waters  subsided  from  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  when  the  very 
man  who  alone  had  found  grace  in  the  eyes  of  the  Lord  gave 
proof  that  it  was  not  a  deluge  of  water  that  could  cleanse 
the  soul  from  sin.  The  confession  of  his  iniquities  had  a 
first  place  in  the  piety  of  Daniel,  and  at  the  sight  of  an  angel 
such  as  ministered  to  Jesus,  on  whose  word  legions  of  them 
waited,  his  comeliness  was  turned  into  corruption.  And  Job, 
the  most  patient  of  men  before  Gethsemane  was  heard  of, 
who  could  plead  his  cause  and  vaunt  of  his  integrity  before 
his  contentious  friends,  no  sooner  felt  in  his  soul  a  sense  of 
the  presence  of  an  all-holy  God,  than  he  abhorred  himself  and 
repented  in  dust  and  ashes. 

It  was  given  to  the  prophets  of  Israel  to  speak  of  one,  on 
the  like  of  whom  none  had  ever  looked.  The  heart  of  the 
royal  and  inspired  Psalmist  was  stirred  up  within  him,  and 
his  tongue  was  as  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer  when  he  spoke 
of  the  things  touching  the  king,  and  indited  a  good  matter 
concerning  him  who  was  fairer  than  the  sons  of  men.  The 
lips  of  Isaiah,  the  evangelical  prophet  who  chiefly  testified 
of  Jesus,  were  touched  by  a  seraph  with  a  live  coal  from 
off  the  altar  of  the  Lord.  But  uninspired  men  must  ever  fal- 
ter and  fail  in  attempting  to  describe  "  the  glory  as  of  the 
only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  of  truth,"  as 
it  shone  through  the  veil  of  mortal  flesh,  while  Jesus  dwelt 
among  us.  The  sacred  theme,  when  approached,  ever 
seems  to  say,  "  Touch  me  not."  And  it  is  not  for  human 
lips  to  tell  how  worthy  is  the  Lamb  whom  angels  worship. 
Even  skeptics,  though  they  discern  but  a  shade  of  the  true 
glory  of  his  character,  have  confessedly  held  it  to  be  unpar- 
alleled. And  an  appeal  may  here  be  made  to  those  who  did 
not  profess  to  rank  among  the  followers  of  Jesus. 

"  If  ever  man  was  God  or  God  man,"  says  Byron,  "  Jesus 
Christ  was  both."  "I  will  confess  to  you  farther,"  says 
Rousseau,  "  that  the  majesty  of  the  Scriptures  strikes  me 
with  admiration,  as  the  purity  of  the  gospel  hath  its  influence 
on  my  heart.  Peruse  the  works  of  our  philosophers,  with 
all  their  pomp  of  diction ;  how  mean,  how  contemptible  are 
they  compared  with  the  Scriptures !  Is  it  possible  that  a 
D  D  2 


318  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

book,  at  once  so  simple  and  sublime,  should  be  merely  the 
work  of  mani  Is  it  possible  that  the  sacred  personage, 
whose  history  it  contains,  should  be  himself  a  mere  man? 
Do  we  find  that  he  assumed  the  air  of  an  enthusiast  or  am- 
bitious sectary  1  What  sweetness,  what  purity  in  his  man- 
ners !  what  an  affecting  gracefulness  in  his  delivery !  what 
sublimity  in  his  maxims !  what  profound  wisdom  in  his  dis- 
courses !  what  presence  of  mind,  what  subtilty,  what;  truth 
in  his  replies !  how  great  the  corariiand  over  his  passions ! 
Where  is  the  man,  where  the  philosopher,  who  could  so  live 
and  so  die,  without  weakness  and  without  ostentation  ? 
When  Plato  described  his  imaginary  good  man,  loaded  with 
all  the  shame  of  guilt,  yet  meriting  the  highest  rewards  of 
virtue,  he  describes  exactly  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
the  resemblance  was  so  striking  that  all  the  fathers  per- 
ceived it. 

"  What  prepossession,  what  blindness  must  it  be,  to  com- 
pare the  son  of  Sophroniscus  to  the  son  of  Mary !  what  an 
infinite  disproportion  there  is  between  them!  Socrates, 
dying  without  pain  or  ignominy,  easily  supported  his  char- 
acter to  the  last ;  and  if  his  death,  however  easy,  had  not 
crowned  his  life,  it  might  have  been  doubted  whether  Soc- 
rates, with  all  his  wisdom,  was  anything  more  than  a  vain 
sophist.  But  where  could  Jesus  learn,  among  his  compa- 
triots, that  pure  and  subUme  morality  of  which  he  only  hath 
given  us  both  precept  and  example  1  The  greatest  wisdom 
was  made  known  amid  the  most  bigoted  fanaticism ;  and 
the  simpUcity  of  the  most  heroic  virtues  did  honour  to  the 
vilest  people  on  the  earth.  The  death  of  Socrates,  peace- 
ably philosophizing  with  his  friends,  appears  the  most  agree- 
able that  could  be  wished  for ;  that  of  Jesus,  expiring  in  the 
midst  of  agonizing  pains,  abused,  insulted,  cursed  by  a  whole 
nation,  is  the  most  horrible  that  could  be  feared.  Socrates, 
in  receiving  the  cup  of  poison,  blessed,  indeed,  the  weeping 
executioner  who  administered  it ;  but  Jesus,  in  the  midst  of 
excruciating  tortures,  prayed  for  his  merciless  tormentors. 
Yes,  if  the  life  and  death  of  Socrates  are  those  of  a  sage,  the 
life  and  death  of  Jesus  are  those  of  a  God.  Shall  we  sup- 
pose the  evangelic  history  a  mere  fiction  1  Indeed,  my  friend, 
it  bears  not  the  marks  of  fiction ;  on  the  contrary,  the  history 
of  Socrates,  which  nobody  presumes  to  doubt,  is  not  so  well 
attested  as  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  Such  a  supposition,  in 
fact,  only  shifts  the  difficulty,  without  removing  it ;  it  is  more 
inconceivable  that  a  number  of  persons  should  agree  to  write 
such  a  history,  than  that  one  only  should  furnish  the  subject 
of  it.  The  Jewish  authors  were  incapable  of  the  diction, 
and  strangers  to  the  morality  contained  in  the  gospel,  the 
marks  of  whose  truths  are  so  striking  and  inimitable,  that 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  319 

the  inventor  would  be  a  more  astonishing  character  than 
the  hero."* 

Rousseau,  as  if  to  confirm  his  testimony  as  that  of  an  en- 
emy, added,  "  I  cannot  beUeve  the  Scriptures."  A  cause  of 
his  unbehef  may  be  found  in  his  own  confessions ;  for  there 
is,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  an  evil  heart  of  unbelief. 
"Because  I  tell  you  the  truth,"  said  Jesus,  "ye  believe  me 
not.  How  can  ye  believe  who  receive  glory  one  of  another, 
and  not  that  glory  which  cometh  from  God  only.  Had  ye 
believed  Moses,  ye  would  have  believed  me,  for  he  wrote  of 
me ;  but  if  ye  believe  not  his  sayings,  how  can  ye  believe 
my  words  V  Rousseau  did  not  believe  Moses  and  the  proph- 
ets, else  he  would  have  believed  in  Jesus ;  for  his  testimony 
concerning  him  is  a  response  to  their  words.  If  they  speak 
not  according  to  this  word,  saith  the  prophet,  it  is  because  there 
is  no  light  in  them.-\  "  How  mean,  how  contemptible  arc  the 
works  of  our  philosophers  compared  with  the  Scriptures," 
says  the  man  who  did  not  believe  them.  Behold,  my  servant 
shall  deal  prudently.  He  shall  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause 
his  voice  to  he  heard  in  the  street.  The  king  cometh  unto  thee, 
just  and  loivly.X  "  Do  we  find  that  Jesus  assumed  the  air  of 
an  enthusiast  or  ambitious  sectary  T  Where  is  the  man — 
that  could  so  live  without  weakness  and  without  ostentation  V 
Hoio  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet  of  him  thatbring- 
ethgood  tidiiigs,  that  puhlisheth  peace,  that  publisheth  salvation.^ 
Grace  is  poured  into  thy  lips.  "  What  sweetness,  what  purity 
in  his  manners !  what  an  affecting  gracefulness  in  his  deliv- 
ery!" I  will  put  my  words  in  his  motcth,\\  saith  the  Lord. 
*' What  sublimity  in  his  maxims!"  saith  the  skeptic.  The 
spirit  of  ivisdom  and  understanding  shall  rest  upon  him ;  the 
spirit  of  counsel,  and  might,  and  knowledge,  and  shall  make  him 
of  quick  understanding.'^  "  What  profound  wisdom  in  his  dis- 
courses !  what  presence  of  mind,  what  subtilty,  what  truth 
in  his  replies!"  I  have  set  my  face  like  a  fiint ;  he  loas  op- 
pressed and  afflicted,  yet  he  opened  not  his  mouth.**  "  What 
command  over  his  passions  !"  Thou  art  fairer  than  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  Behold  my  servant  whom  I  uphold.\\  "  Where 
is  the  man,  where  the  philosopher,  who  could  so  live  and  so 
die,  without  weakness  and  without  ostentation  1"  He  had 
done  no  violence,  neither  ivas  any  deceit  in  his  mouth ;  yet  it 
pleased  the  Lord  to  bruise  him ;  he  hath  put  him  to  grief.  He 
shall  bear  their  iniquities ;  therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion 
with  the  greats  because  he  hath  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death. 

*  Rousseau's  Emilius,  vol.  ii,,  p.  218.    Quoted  in  Brewster's  Testimo- 
nies, 
t  Isa.  viii.,  20,  X  Isa.  lii.,  13  ;  xlii.,  2.    Zech.  ix.,  9. 

()  Isa.  lii.,  7.    Psal.  xlv.,  2.  ||  Deut.  xviii.,  18. 

IT  Isa.  xi,  2.  *♦  Isa.  1.,  7 

+t  PsaL  xlv.,  2,    Isa.  xliu,  L 


320  TESTIMONY    OF   THE    PROPHETS 

He  did  not  hide  his  face  from  shame.  "  When  Plato  described 
his  imaginary  good  man,  loaded  with  all  the  shame  of  guilt, 
yet  meriting  the  highest  reward  of  fortune,  he  describes  ex- 
actly the  character  of  Jesus  Christ :  the  resemblance  wa» 
so  striking  that  all  the  fathers  perceived  it."  The  resem- 
blance between  ^le  character  of  the  Messiah  and  the  history 
of  Jesus  is  so  striking,  that  infidels,  if  not  blind,  may  per- 
ceive it,  and  be  convinced  of  sin  because  they  believed  not 
n  him.  And  conjoining  the  testimony  of  the  prophets  with 
the  farther  confessions  of  an  enemy,  it  may  be  seen  that 
the  doctrines  and  death  of  Jesus,  like  his  life,  were  divine. 
/  will  raise  them  up  a  Prophet  from  among  their  brethren^  and 
ivill  put  my  words  in  his  mrOuth.  Israel  doth  not  know  ;  a  sin- 
ful nation,  a  people  laden  with  iniquity,  Sfc.  I  have  spread  out 
my  hands  all  the  day  to  a  rebellious  people.  By  his  hnowledge 
shall  my  righteous  servant  justify  many.  Out  of  Zion  shall  go 
forth  the  law,  and  th*^  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  He 
will  magnify  the  law,  and  make  it  honourable*  "  Where  could 
Jesus  learn^  among  his  compatriots,  that  pure  and  sublime 
morality,  of  which  he  only  hath  given  us  both  precept  and 
example  1  The  greatest  wisdom  was  made  known  amid  the 
most  bigoted  fanaticism  ;  and  the  simplicity  of  the  most  he- 
roic virtues  did  honour  to  the  vilest  people  on  the  earth." 
He  was  rejected,  reviled,  despised,  abhorred  by  the  nation, 
laughed  to  scorn ;  we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted ;  he  was  wounded,  bruised,  scourged,  oppressed,  af- 
flicted, cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living ;  he  poured  out  his 
soul  unto  death.  His  visage  was  marred  more  than  any  man  ; 
his  form  more  than  the  sons  of  men.  "  The  death  of  Jesus,  ex- 
piring in  the  midst  of  agonizing  pains,  abused,  insulted,  cursed 
by  a  whole  nation,  is  the  most  horrible  that  could'be  feared." 
He  bare  the  sins  of  many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  trans- 
gressors. "  Jesus,  in  the  midst  of  excruciating  tortures, 
prayed  for  his  merciless  tormentors." 

It  was  the  peculiar  office  of  the  prophets  of  Israel,  gifted 
with  an  infinitely  higher  inspiration  than  that  of  genius,  to 
delineate  the  character  of  the  Son  of  the  Highest,  who,  at 
the  time  appointed,  was  to  be  manifested  in  the  flesh.  The 
evangelists  wrote  the  history  of  Christ's  life  and  death ;  from 
their  record,  drawn  from  the  life,  Rousseau  delineated  the 
character  of  Jesus ;  and  hence  arises  the  conformity  between 
his  description  and  the  prophetic  testimony  concerning  the 
Messiah. 

Each  incident  of  the  life  of  Jesus  was  an  illustration  of  the 
Messiah's  character  and  doctrine.  In  the  land  of  Galilee, 
where  first  he  preached,  the  people,  according  to  the  prophecy, 
who  walked  in  darkness,  saw  a  great  light,  and  upon  them  who 

♦  Deut.  xviii.,  1 8.     Isa.  i.,  3,  4 ;  Ixv.,  2  ;  Iv.,  2 ;  liii. ;  ii.,  3 ;  xlii.,  21. 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  321 

dwelt  in  the  shadow  of  death  the  light  did  shine.  And  illiterate 
and  abject  Galileans,  as  they  were  contemptuously  denomi- 
nated, who  were  themselves  long  unable  to  comprehend  "  the 
sublimity  of  his  maxims"  or  the  divinity  of  his  demeanour, 
recorded  the  actions  and  sayings  of  Jesus,  whom  they  fol- 
lowed as  their  master,  and  whose  witnesses  they  were.  And 
thus  that  which  genius  could  not  fancy  was  exemplified  in 
fact ;  and  a  pattern  of  perfect  virtue  was  set  before  the  world; 
and  the  light  shone  in  darkness,  and,  as  also  foretold,  the  dark- 
ness comprehended  it  not. 

Yet  the  light  of  his  life,  as  well  as  the  light  of  his  words, 
needs  but  to  be  truly  seen  in  order  to  enlighten  every  man 
that  cometh  into  the  world.  Though  there  was  no  beauty 
in  him  "  to  draw  the  carnal  eye,"  and  his  earthly  lot  was  the 
poorest  and  the  hardest,  yet  the  man  of  sorrows  was  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  and  in  him  we  behold,  as  in  a  glass,  the 
glory  of  the  Lord.  He  was  fairer  than  the  children  of  men  ; 
grace  was  poured  into  his  lips ;  therefore  God  hath  blessed  him 
for  ever.  He  loved  righteousness  and  hated  wickedness  :  and  he 
was  the  righteous  servant  of  the  Lord.  In  the  volume  of  God^s 
book  it  was  written  of  him,  he  caw.e  to  do,  as  well  as  to  reveal, 
the  will  of  God.  And  he  always  did  the  things  that  pleased 
Him.  Even  when  wearied  and  a  hungered  he  sought  no  rest, 
and  left  untasted  the  food  that  was  brought  him  that  he  might 
preach  the  gospel  to  those  who,  even  from  a  city  of  the  Sa- 
maritans, came  forth  to  hear  him  :  "  for,"  he  said,  "  it  is  my 
meat  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his 
work."  Such  was  his  de  votedness  to  well-doing,  that  he  went 
about  continually  doing  good.  Such  was  his  exclusive  re- 
gard to  his  Father's  will  and  his  Father's  work,  that,  even  to 
her  whose  seed,  according  to  the  flesh,  he  was,  he  could  say, 
"  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee  V  Such  was  his  love 
of  righteousness,  that,  when  his  mother  and  his  brethren  sent 
unto  him,  while  he  sat  with  his  disciples  and  was  teaching 
the  people,  he  looked  on  those  that  were  about  him  and  said, 
"  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren,  for  whosoever  shall 
do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  my  sister, 
and  mother."  Yet  there  was  no  moral  derangement  in  the 
balance  of  his  virtues,  for  all  were  alike  perfect.  And  such, 
as  a  man,  was  his  filial  obedience,  and  the  example  which 
he  gave  to  every  son  and  stepson  on  earth,  that  after  the 
doctors  in  the  temple  had  been  astonished  at  his  wisdom  while 
yet  a  youth,  he  went  home  at  the  bidding  of  his  parents  and 
was  obedient  unto  them  ;  and,  at  the  last,  even  the  excru- 
ciating agonies  of  the  cross  could  not  restrain  him  from  ex- 
emplifying the  affection  of  a  son  and  the  confidence  of  a 
friend,  and  thus  giving,  by  the  legacy  of  his  dying  lips,  a  son 
to  his  mother,  and  a  mother  to  the  disciple  whom  he  loved. 
Such  was  his  hatred  of  wickedness,  that,  when  the  apostle  Pe- 


322  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

ter  spoke  as  savouring  not  the  things  that  be  of  God,  but  those 
that  be  of  men,  he  addressed  liim  in  the  language  of  reproof 
and  reprobation,  as  if  he  had  spoken  to  the  tempter  in  the 
wilderness  again.  With  a  word  he  at  once  brake  down  the 
pride  of  a  self-righteous  Pharisee,  and  revived  the  spirit  of  a 
contrite  sinner.  A  needful  wound  was  given  to  the  care- 
troubled  Martha  by  the  physician  and  friend  of  both,  while 
balm^  like  that  of  Gilead,  was  administered  to  the  accused  but 
acquitted,  because  heavenly-minded,  Mary. 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  ivisdom  which  he  manifested,  and  so 
prudently  did  he  deal,  that  all  who  heard  him  were  astonished 
at  his  words ;  his  enemies,  who  framed  devices  to  ensnare 
him,  and  appealed  to  his  judgment  in  order  to  tempt  him,  were 
baffled  and  confounded  at  his  answers ;  though  hired  spies 
watched  his  words  and  sought  to  entangle  him  in  his  talk, 
yet  so  effectually  did  he  silence  them  that  no  man  durst  ask 
him  a  question ;  and  even  from  the  superscription  on  a  penny 
he  could  free  himself  from  their  wiles,  and  teach  his  insidious 
foes  what  they  sought  not  to  learn,  their  duty  at  once  to  their 
king  and  to  their  God.  He  who  judged  not  after  the  sight  of 
his  eyes,  but  knew  what  was  in  man,  unveiled  alike  the  hearts 
of  his  disciples  and  of  his  enemies ;  and  showed  the  guileless, 
but  at  first  incredulous  Nathanael,  that  the  deep  shade  of  the 
fig-tree  could  not  hide  his  body  or  his  mind  from  his  all-see- 
ing eje ;  he  laid  hypocrisy  open  and  bare,  and  showed  the 
corruption  with  which  the  whited  sepulchres  were  full ;  and 
he  told  how  the  hand,  which  was  dipped  with  his  own  in  the 
dish,  was  that  of  the  traitor. 

Benevolence  and  compassion,  like  every  virtue,  were  iden- 
tified with  the  name  and  nature  of  Jesus.  He  who  would 
not  exercise  his  Divine  power  to  satisfy  his  own  hunger, 
would  not  send  one  of  the  hungry  multitude,  who  had  come 
forth  to  hear  him,  empty  away.  He  who  voluntarily  gave 
himself  to  suffering  and  death,  healed  all  manner  of  sicknesses 
and  diseases  among  the  people.  His  acts  of  Divine  power 
manifested  that  God  is  love.  He  made  the  lame  to  walk,  the 
deaf  to  hear,  the  blind  to  see ;  they  who  were  brought  to  him 
on  beds  departed  bearing  that  whereon  they  lay;  with- 
ered hands  were  stretched  forth  at  his  command;  paralytics 
arose  in  perfect  soundness  before  him ;  and,  wherever  he 
went,  these  were  the  witnesses  which  he  chose  to  show 
that  his  word  was  that  of  God,  and  that  power  was  given  him 
on  earth  to  forgive  sins.  Of  the  diseased  bodies  of  men  then 
(as  of  their  spirits  now)  it  is  related  that  as  many  as  touched 
him  were  made  perfectly  whole.  There  went  virtue  out  of 
him  and  healed  them  all. 

Meek  and  lowly,  he  came  unto  Jerusalem  as  the  prophet 
had  beheld  him  in  a  vision,  silting  on  an  ass^s  colt.  But  who 
declared  the  generation  of  him  who  washed  his  disciples'  feet. 


TO    THE    MBSSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  323 

and  left  a  pattern  of  condescension  and  kindness  for  Christians 
to  imitate  towards  "one  another  V  Such  was  his  sympathy 
for  human  sorrow,  that,  while  others  stood  around  two  mourn- 
ing sisters  weeping  for  a  brother's  death,  Jesus  wept.  Such 
was  his  pity  for  the  souls  of  men,  that,  in  coming  as  its  king 
to  Zion,  amid  the  hosannahs  of  the  multitude,  he  looked  not 
to  Calvary,  where  he  was  soon  to  die,  but  he  beheld  Jerusa- 
lem and  wept  over  it,  in  bitter  and  affecting  lamentation  for 
its  hardened  impenitence  and  approaching  desolation.  Such 
was  his  disinterestedness  and  compassionate  tenderness,  and 
so  entirely  did  he  look  to  the  things  of  others,  not  his  own, 
that  he  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many.  When  a  rude  band  went 
forth  with  swords  and  staves,  as  against  a  thief,  to  take  him, 
he  said,  "  Whom  seek  ye  ?"  "  Here  am  I ;"  "  If  ye  seek  me,  let 
these  go  away."  And  when  hterally  bearing  his  cross,  he 
turned  unto  the  women  which  bewailed  and  lamented  him, 
and  said,  "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me,  but 
weep  for  yourselves  and  for  your  children." 

Never  was  there  a  record  of  any  sufferings  like  those  of 
Jesus ;  nor  ever  else  was  there  an  instance  of  an  agony  of 
soul  that  forced  from  the  human  body  a  sweat  of  blood,  fall- 
ing in  large  drops  upon  the  ground.  And  "  the  most  horrible 
death  that  can  be  conceived,"  even  as  its  outward  circum- 
stances are  alone  regarded,  show  how  Jesus  was  made_  per- 
fect by  suffering,  and  how  his  death,  like  his  life,  is  a  witness 
that  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  the  Messiah  who  gave  his  soul 
an  offering  for  sin. 

When  he  cometh  into  the  world,  he  saith,  sacrifice  and  of- 
fering thou  wouldst  not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  prepared  me. 
But  his  visage  loas  so  marred  more  than  any  man,  and  his  form 
more  than  the  sons  of  men.  Yet  he'was  not  rebellious  nor  turned 
aioay  back.  But  he  gave  his  back  to  the  smiters  and  his  cheeks 
to  them  that  plucked  off  the  hair ;  he  did  not  hide  his  face  from 
shame  and  spitting,  but  set  his  face  as  a  flint.  As  a  sheep  before 
her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  opened  not  his  mouth.  They  shall 
smite  the  Judge  of  Israel  with  a  rod  upon  the  cheek. 

Thus  prophets  testified  beforehand  the  devotedness,  intre- 
pidity, and  patience,  all  alike  Divine,  as  well  as  the  sufferings 
of  him  who  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  whose 
death  was  typified  every  year  in  every  house  in  Jerusalem 
by  the  slaying  of  the  paschal  lamb. 

The  determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God  con- 
cerning the  Messiah  was  declared  and  revealed  in  his  in- 
spired word.  And  in  suffering,  as  in  doing,  he  fulfilled  the 
will  of  the  Father  till  it  was  finished,  and  the  things  that  were 
written  concerning  him  had  an  end.  He  did  not  turn  away 
back,  but  he  set  his  face  as  a  flint.  "And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
the  time  was  come  that  he  should  be  received  up,  he  stead- 


834  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

faslly  set  his  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem.^''*  In  the  garden  of  Geth- 
seraane,  before  the  traitor  approached,  and  wliile  no  hand  ol 
man  was  upon  liim,  his  words  bespoke  unutterable  wo,  hia 
soul  was  exceeding  sorrowful  even  u»to  death,  his  body  was 
covered  with  tokens  of  far  greater  agony  than  flesh  alone 
could  bear  or  bodily  torture  excite  ;  and  yet,  while  he  could 
not  but  pray  that  the  cup  might  pass  from  him,  to  that  prayer 
another  was  ever  added,  time  after  tirte,  denoting  the  full  and 
fimi  purpose  of  his  voluntarily-devoted,  though  wounded,  op- 
pressed, and  afflicted,  yet  unalterable  soul,  "  O  my  Father, 
if  this  cup  may  not  pass  from  me  except  I  drink  it,  thy  will 
be  done ;  not  my  will,  but  thine  be  done."  His  soul  was  brought 
doivn  unto  the  dust  of  death.  He  fell  on  the  ground,  which 
was  covered  with  blood,  not  shed  by  any  mortal  hand  nor 
flowing  from  any  human  wound ;  he  went  to  his  disciples  and 
found  them  sleeping,  yet  he  turned  not  back  nor  changed  his 
prayer  ;  but,  on  the  repeated  renewal  of  his  agony,  he  repeat- 
ed the  same  words  a  second  time  and  a  third.  "  For  this 
cause,"  he  said,  "  came  I  unto  this  hour." 

When  the  traitor  and  his  band  were  at  hand,  Jesus  went 
forth  and  said  unto  them,  "  Whom  seek  ye  V  At  the  words 
*'  I  am"  from  his  lips,  they  went  backward  and  fell  to  the 
ground.  The  voluntary  victim  asked  them  again.  And  when 
they  then  laid  hands  on  Jesus,  and  took  him,  he  said  unto 
Peter,  who  had  stretched  forth  an  arm  of  flesh,  and  smitten 
with  the  sword  for  his  defence  and  rescue,  "  Put  up  again  thy 
sword  into  his  place.  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray 
to  my  Father,  and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels  ?  But  how,  then,  shall  the  Scriptures 
he  fulfilled,  that  thus  it  must  he  .?"t  And  as  he  went,  soon  after, 
to  the  place  of  crucifixion,  he  turned  not  back,  but  in  re- 
sponding to  the  sympathy  of  his  weeping  followers,  he  ex- 
pressed his  care  for  other  sorrows  than  his  own. 

Jesus  was  taken  from  judgment,  or  judicially  condemned. 
When  questioned  by  the  high  priest  concerning  his  disciples 
and  his  doctrine,  he  sought  not  to  conceal  aught,  but  appeal- 
ed to  the  manner  in  which  he  had  spoken  openly  to  the 
world,  and  to  the  testimony  of  those  who  had  heard  him. 
An  officer  who  stood  by,  offended  at  the  answer,  having  smit- 
ten him  with  a  rod,|  he  said,  as  becoming  the  righteous  judge 
,of  Israel,  which  the  ignominious  blow  itself  farther  approved 
him  to  be,  "  If  1  have  spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  tke  evil ; 
but  if  well,  why  smitest  thou  me  V^  When  adjured  by  the 
living  God  to  tell  whether  he  was  the  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  he  was  a  witness  to  the  truth  for  which  he  died  ;  and, 
given  as  he  was  for  a  witness  to  the  people,  he  answered  in  a 

*  Luke  ix.,  51.  +  ]V5att.  xxvi.,  53.  54.  %  fidrivfxa. 

()  John,  xviii  ,  )9-2J.     isa.  Iv.,  4 


TO    THE   MESSIAHSHir     OF    JESUS.  325 

word,  "  I  am."  Convicted  of  blasphemy  because  of  the  word, 
he  "  answered  nothing"  to  all  of  the  accusations  against  him ; 
nor  could  all  the  cruelties  and  indignities  he  endured  extort 
from  him  a  word  of  impatient  complaint.  The  magnanim- 
ity of  Jesus  triumphed  over  all  the  malice  of  his  enemies. 
Blindfolded,  buffeted,  smitten  on  the  face,  and  laughed  to  scorn., 
he  patiently  bore  it.  He  did  not  turn  his  cheek  from  the 
rod,  nor  his  back  from  the  scourge.  From  shame  and  spitting 
he  did  not  hide  his  face.  Oppressed  hy  the  wicked,  and  com- 
passed about  by  his  deadly  enemies,  a  reproach  of  man  and  de- 
spised of  the  people,  he  saw  how  they  did  shoot  out  the  lip,  and 
shake  the  head,  and  gape  on  him  with  their  mouths ;  he  heard 
their  insulting  scoffs,  their  bitter  derision,  their  bloodthirsty 
cry  of  Crucify  him,  crucify  him  :  and  knowing  that  all  these 
were  ingredients  in  the  cup  which  his  Father  had  given  him 
to  drink,  of  which  he  said,  "  shall  I  not  drink  of  it  V  an(i 
that  these  things  were  all  numbered  among  his  sufferings, 
and  written  concerning  him  in  the  volume  of  the  book  of 
God,*  to  whom  it  was  his  prayer,  "  thy  will,  and  not  mine,  be 
done,"  that  word  he  would  fulfil,  and  that  will  he  would  do, 
God  he  would  glorify,  man  he  would  save,  everlasting  right- 
eousness he  would  bring  in ;  the  chastisement  of  his  people's 
peace,  together  with  their  sins,  he  would  bear ;  the  serpent's 
head  he  would  bruise,  though  his  own  form  should  be  marred ; 
the  curse  of  a  broken  law  he  would  bear,  though  his  own 
body  should  be  broken ;  and  the  penalty  of  sin  he  would  pay, 
though  his  soul  was  the  offering.  And,  appearing  in  the 
stead  of  the  guilty,  when  he  was  reviled,  he  reviled  not 
again ;  when  he  suffered,  he  threatened  not ;  but,  innocent 
as  a  lamb,  he  was  dumb  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers,  and 
answered  not  a  word.  But  while  not  a  murmuring  accent 
fell  from  his  lips,  and  patience  had  in  him  its  perfect  pattern 
and  its  perfect  work,  he  who  taught  his  followers  to  pray  for 
those  who  despitefully  used  them,  gave  the  example  from 
the  cross,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors  who 
nailed  him  to  the  accursed  tree,  exulted  in  his  humiliation, 
Efnd  made  a  mockery  of  his  woes.  The  sight  of  Jesus  on 
the  cross  was  enough  to  make  the  Roman  centurion  exclaim, 
"  Truly  this  was  a  righteous  man ;  truly  this  was  the  Son  oJ 
God."  And  who  that  believes  in  Moses  and  the  prophets 
must  not  be  constrained  to  say,  truly  this  is  the  very  Christ  1 
Wliat  eye— darker  than  that  of  Rousseau,  and  shut  against 
all  perception  of  moral  worth  and  of  spiritual  excellence — 
does  not  see,  with  the  light  of  truth,  the  beauty  of  holiness 
in  the  character  of  Jesus,  and  behold  in  him,  and  in  him 
alone,  one  fairer  than  the  sons  of  men.  And  set  apart  thus, 
as  he  was  by  the  prophets,  from  all  men  besides,  and  testified 

♦  Mic.  v.,  1.     Ps.  xxii.,  7.    Isa.  I.,  6  ;  liii.,  7.     Ps.  cix.,  3 ;  xxii.,  6,  7  n 

E  E 


326  TESTIMONY    OF    THE  PROPHETS 

of  by  them  all,  who  does  not  see  with  the  demonstration  of 
sight  that  he  who  thus  lived  and  died  is  the  righteous  ser- 
vant of  the  Lord  and  the  anointed  Saviour  of  men  1  The  tes- 
timony of  the  prophets  is  an  unctioit  from  on  high,  poured 
visibly  on  his  sacred  head.  The  Spirit  of  Prophecy  may  be 
seen  descending  and  resting  on  Jesus,  as  the  same  Spirit  in 
another  dovelike  form  was  seen  by  the  Baptist  alighting  on 
him.  And  the  least  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  who  gives  heed 
to  the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  is  greater  than  the  man  who 
sent  unto  Christ  and  asked  him,  Art  thou  he  that  should 
come,  or  look  we  for  another  '\  For  assuredly  there  is  none 
other  in  whom  that  word  of  prophecy  can  be  fulfilled,  and 
there  is  none  other  name  given  under  heaven  or  named 
among  men  by  which  we  can  be  saved. 

The  humiliation,  sufferings,  and  death  of  Jesus  were  urged 
Ijy  heathens  who  believed  not  in  the  prophets,  as  proofs  that 
Christ  was  not  the  Son  of  God.  But  in  these  very  things 
we  read  the  sure  credentials  of  his  Messiahship.  The  doc- 
trines of  the  gospel  have  in  like  manner  been  the  scoff  of 
modern  infidels ;  and  neologists,  retaining  the  name  of  Chris- 
tians, wrest  the  Scriptures  according  to  their  fancy,  and 
seek  to  render  them  credible,  or  to  reconcile  them  to  rea- 
son, by  substituting  the  word  of  man  for  that  of  God !  But 
the  sayings  of  Scripture  are  faithful  and  worthy  of  all  accep- 
tation, as  the  service  which  it  enjoins  is  reasonable,  and 
alone  forms  the  freedom  of  the  soul.  And  such  is  the  har- 
mony between  the  words  of  the  prophets  and  the  writings 
of  apostles,  that,  if  the  gospel  be  altered,  the  evidence  is 
destroyed.  It  is  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saints,  for 
which  Christians  have  earnestly  to  contend,  as  that  which 
alone  rests  on  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and  prophets, 
Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone.  If  anoth- 
er gospel  be  preached,  prophets  and  apostles  alike  disown 
it ;  and  it  is  neither  the  doctrine  of  the  Messiah  nor  the  faith 
of  Jesus.  To  be  rationally  believed,  according  to  the  testi- 
mony of  God  by  the  prophets,  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel 
must  needs  be  what  they  are.  And  if  men  be  not  corrupted 
from  the  simplicity  that  is  in  Christ,  all  the  articles  of  their 
faith  are  reasons  of  their  hope,  as  forming  the  very  salvation 
which  the  Lord  did  promise. 

The  divine  character  of  the  divine  Redeemer,  as  depicted 
by  the  prophets  and  drawn  from  the  life,  is  but  one  of  the 
themes  pertaining  to  his  Messiahship  which  are  interwoven 
in  the  prophecies  concerning  him.  The  mystery  of  godli- 
ness, foretold  of  old  and  decreed  from  the  beginning,  and 
which  angels  desired  to  pry  into,  was  revealed  when  the 
Son  of  God  was  manifest  in  the  fiesh,  and  the  Scriptures 
were  fulfilled.  The  doctrine  of  the  cross,  or  of  the  expia- 
tion of  sin  by  his  sufferings  and  dejith,  is  intimately  con- 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS.  327 

joined  in  the  selfsame  passages  of  holy  writ,  alike  in  the 
Old  Testament  as  in  the  New.  And  marvellous  as  the  his- 
tory of  Jesus  is,  all  the  wonders  which  it  unfolds  are  plainly 
written  in  the  prophetic  word,  which  often  speaks  in  the 
same  sentence  of  his  divine  and  human  nature,  of  his  humil- 
iation and  his  glory. 

He  who  was  to  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent  was  the 
same  seed  of  the  woman  whose  own  heel  was  to  be  bruised. 
He  who  was  called  Immanuel,  God  with  us,  was  born  of  a 
virgin.  A  child  was  born  and  a  son  was  given,  on  whose 
shoulder  is  the  government,  whose  name  is  the  Mighty  God, 
the  Prince  of  Peace,  of  the  increase  of  whose  government 
and  peace  there  shall  be  no  end.  Out.  of  Bethlehem  Ephra- 
tah,  little  among  the  thousands  of  Israel,  has  he  come  forth, 
whose  goings  forth  were  of  old  from  everlasting.  And  this 
prophetic  announcement  of  the  birthplace  of  Jesus  was  sub- 
joined to  the  declaration,  they  shall  smite  the  Judge  of  Israel 
with  a  rod  upon  the  cheek.  He  at  whose  triumphant  en- 
trance into  Jerusalem  the  daughter  of  Zion  shouted  and  re- 
joiced greatly,  and  who  came  to  Jerusalem  as  its  king,  lowly 
and  riding  upon  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass,  is  he  who  has  spo- 
ken peace  to  the  heathen,  while  the  chariot  has  been  cut  off 
from  Ephraim  and  the  battle-bow  from  Jerusalem,  and  whose 
dominion  shall  be  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  river  to  the 
ends  of  the  earth,  and  by  the  blood  of  whose  covenant  it  is 
that  the  prisoners  of  Zion  are  yet  to  be  sent  forth  out  of  the 
pit  wherein  is  no  water.  Of  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  given 
for  the  price  of  Jesus,  the  Lord  said  by  his  prophets,  a  good- 
ly price  that  /  was  prized  at  of  them.  Jesus  was  wounded 
in  the  house  of  his  friends ;  and  the  shepherd  was  smitten, 
of  whom  the  prophets  speak,  "  The  man  that  is  my  fellow, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  He  has  been  exalted  and  extolled, 
and  is  very  high,  whose  visage  was  so  marred  more  than 
any  man.  He  who  was  wounded  for  our  transgressions,  and 
bruised  for  our  iniquities,  has  sprinkled  many  nations.  Kings 
have  shut  their  mouths  at  him  who  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the 
slaughter  and  opened  not  his  mouth.  He  who  was  cut  off 
out  of  the  land  of  the  living  has  seen  his  seed  and  prolonged 
his  days.  The  pleasure  of  the  Lord  has  prospered  in  his 
hands,  whom  we  did  esteem  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted. 
He  who  gave  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  has  seen  of  the 
travail  of  his  soul,  and  is  satisfied.  The  righteous  servant 
of  the  Lord  has  justified  many  by  his  knowledge,  even  be- 
cause he  did  bear  their  iniquities.  And  the  Lord  hath  divi- 
ded unto  him  a  portion  with  the  great,  and  he  has  divided 
the  spoil  with  the  strong,  who  was  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors, and  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death.*    Though  Is- 

*  Isa.  lii.,  liii. 


328  TESTIMONY    OF    THE    PROPHETS 

rael  would  not  be  gathered,  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  who  is 
yet  to  raise  up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  is  a  light  to  the  Gentiles, 
and  the  salvation  of  God  to  the  ends  of  the  earth :  and  to 
him  whom  man  despised,  to  him  wh&m  the  nation  abhorred, 
kings  have  seen  and  arisen,  princes  also  have  worshipped, 
because  of  the  Lord  that  is  faithful,  and  the  Holy  One  of 
Israel  who  did  choose  him.*  He  too  it  was  who  gave  his 
back  to  the  smiters,  to  whom  the  Lord  gave  the  tongue  of 
the  learned,  and  who  knew  how  to  speak  a  word  in  season 
to  him  that  is  weary.f  The  same  set  time  was  appointed 
upon  the  Jews  and  upon  Jerusalem  to  finish  the  transgres- 
sion, to  make  an  end  of  sins,  and  to  make  reconciliation  foi 
iniquity,  and  to  bring  in  everlasting  righteousness,  and  to  seal 
up  the  vision  and  prophecy,  and  to  anoint  the  Most  Holy, 
And  the  selfsame  prophecy  affirms  that  Messiah  the  prince 
was  to  be  cut  off  before  the  city  and  the  sanctuary  should  be 
destroyed.  The  stone  which  the  builders  refused  is  become 
the  head  of  the  corner.  And  he  against  whom,  as  the  An- 
ointed of  the  Lord,  the  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and 
the  rulers  took  counsel,  is  the  king  whom  God  hath  set  upon 
his  holy  hill  of  Zion,  to  whom  the  heathen  shall  be  given  for 
his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his 
possession. 

For  the  "  coming  war  of  opinions"  which  earthly  politicians 
now  at  last  see  to  be  approaching,  Christians  are  prepared ; 
for  though  they  may  not  be  able  to  define  its  development, 
it  is  given  to  them  to  know  its  issue.  The  field  of  reason  is  al- 
ready filling  with  avengers  on  the  enemy,  and  he  must  choose 
other  ground.  The  progress  of  light  is  shaking  his  kingdom 
of  darkness ;  and  we  know  that  when  his  time  is  short,  his 
rage  shall  be  great.  And  were  the  prince  of  darkness,  the 
god  of  this  world,  to  congregate  his  vassals,  and  combine 
his  marked  and  motley  forces  against  the  faithful  of  the  Lord ; 
were  the  adversaries  of  the  gospel  to  try  at  last,  as  at  the 
first,  to  suppress  or  expiate  Divine  truth  by  brutal  force,  the 
prophetic  testimony  would  thereby  receive  fresh  confirma- 
tion ;  "  the  times  and  the  seasons,"  which  the  Father  hath  in 
his  power,  and  which  are  written  in  his  word,  when  error 
shall  accelerate  its  ruin,  and  the  mystery  of  iniquity  be  abol- 
ished, would  then  be  determined ;  the  question  would  be  re- 
solved to  whom  it  is  that  all  power  belongeth ;  and  when  the 
last  of  mortal  combats  shall  be  over,  and  they  that  take  the 
sword  shall  perish  with  the  sword,  the  greatness  of  the  king- 
dom under  the  whole  heaven  shall  be  given  to  the  people  of 
the  saints  of  the  Most  High;  and  though  carnal  weapons  be 
not  fitted  for  Christians'  hands,  their  feet  shall  be  dipped  in 
the  blood  of  their  enemies ;  infidelity  shall  be  overthrown, 

»   Isa.  xlix.,  5-7.  +  Isa.  1.,  4,  6. 


TO    THE    MESSIAHSHIP    OF    JESUS  329 

idolatry  shall  be  abolished >  desolations  shall  cease,  truth  shall 
prevail ;  the  Spirit  by  whom  the  prophets  spake  shall,  accord- 
ing to  thieir  word,  be  poured  upon  all  flesh ;  righteousness  shall 
flourish,  and  peace  abound;  the  word  of  the  Lord,  yet  unac- 
complished, shall  be  fulfilled ;  the  mystery  of  God  shall  be 
finished,  as  he  hath  declared  by  his  servants  the  prophets,  and 
(to  comprehend  and  close  our  whole  theme  in  one  blessed 
word)  knowledge  shall  be  the  stability  of  the  times  of  thb 
Messiah. 

Ec2 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I —See  p.  48-50. 


JusQUEs  k  quand  I'homme  iraportunera-t-il  les  cieux  d'une  injuste  plainte  ? 
Jusques  a  quand,  par  de  vaines  clameurs  accusera-t-il  le  sort  de  ses  raaux  1 
Ses  yeux  serout-ils  done  toujours  fermes  a  la  lumi^re,  et  son  coeur  aux  in 
sinuations  de  la  verite  et  de  la  raison?  Elle  s'offre  partout  a  lui,  cette 
virite  lumineuse,  et  il  ne  la  voit  point !  Le  cri  de  la  raison  Irappe  son  ore- 
ille,  et  il  ne  I'entend  pas  !  Homme  injuste  !  si  tu  peux  un  instant  suspen- 
dre  le  prestige  qui  fascine  tes  sens  !  si  ton  coeur  est  capable  de  comprendre 
le  langage  du  raisonnement,  interroge  ces  ruines !  Lis  les  lemons  qu'elles 
te  presentent !  .  .  .  Et  vous,  temoins  de  vingt  si^cles  divers,  temples  saints ! 
tombeaux  venerables  !  murs  jadis  glorieux,  paraissez  dans  la  cause  de  la 
nature  mime  !  Venez  au  tribunal  d'un  sain  entendement  deposer  contre  une 
accusation  injuste  !  venez  confondre  les  declamations  d'une  faussesagesse 
ou  d'une  piete  hypocrite,  et  vengez  la  terre  et  les  cieux  de  I'liomme  qui  les 
calomnie  ! — Les  Ruins,  c.  iii.     CEuvres  de  Volney,  tom.  i.,  p.  13. 

O  noms  a  jamais  glorieux  !  champs  celebres,  contrees  memorables ! 
combien  votre  aspect  presente  de  legons  profondes  !  combien  de  verites  sub- 
limes sont  ecrites  sur  la  surface  de  cette  terre !  Souvenirs  des  temps 
passes,  revenez  a  ma  pensee.  Lieux  temoins  de  la  vie  de  I'homme  en  tant 
de  divers  ages,  retracez-moi  les  revolutions  de  sa  fortune  !  Dites  quels  en 
furent  les  mobiles  et  les  ressorts  !  Dites  a  quelles  sources  il  puisa  ses  suc- 
ces  et  ses  disgraces  !  D^voiles  a  lui-meme  les  causes  de  ses  maux  !  Re- 
dressez-le  par  la  vue  de  ses  erreurs  !  Enseignes-lui  sa  propre  sagesse,  et 
que  I'experience  des  races  passees  devienne  un  tableau  d'instruction  et  un 
germe  de  bonheur  pour  les  races  presentes  et  futures ! — Ibid.,  c.  iv.,  p.  25. 


No.  II.— See  p.  59. 

EXTRACT  FROM  LETTER  OF  HUME  TO  DR.  CAMPBELL. 

It  may  perhaps  amuse  you  to  learn  the  first  hint  which  suggested  to  me 
that  argument  which  you  have  so  strenuously  attacked.  I  was  walking  in 
the  cloisters  of  the  Jesuits'  College  of  La  Fleche  (a  town  in  which  I  passed 
two  years  of  my  youth),  and  was  engaged  in  conversation  with  a  Jesuit  of 
some  parts  and  learning,  who  was  relating  to  me  and  urging  some  nonsen- 
sical miracle  performed  lately  in  their  convent,  when  I  was  tempted  to  dis- 
pute against  him  ;  and  as  my  head  was  full  of  the  topics  of  my  Treatise  of 
Human  Nature,  which  I  was  at  that  time  composing,  this  argument  imme- 
diately occurred  to  me,  and  I  thought  it  very  much  gravelled  my  compan- 
ion. But  at  last  he  observed  to  me  that  it  was  impossible  for  that  argu- 
ment to  have  any  solidity,  because  it  operated  equally  against  the  Gospel 
as  the  Catholic  miracles,  which  observation  I  thought  proper  to  admit  as  a 
suflSicient  answer.  I  believe  you  will  allow  that  the  freedom  at  least  of  this 
reasoning  makes  it  somewhat  extraordinary  to  have  been  the  produce  of  a 
convent  of  Jesuits,  though  perhaps  you  may  think  that  the  sophistry  of  it 
savours  of  the  place  of  its  birth. — CampbeWs  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical  His 
tory,  Edinburgh,  June  7,  1762. 


332  APPENDIX. 


No.  III.— See  p.  94. 

CONCURRING    TESTIMONY  OF  ANCIENT  AND  CHIEFLY    HEATHEN   .titiTERS, 
TO  HISTORICAL  PACTS  RECORDED  BY  MOSES. 

{Adduced  by  Grotitis,  De  Veritate,  i.,  16.) 

The  nations  which  most  rigidly  retained  ancient  customs  reckoned  time 
by  nights,  darkness  having  originally  preceded  light,  as  Thales  taught  from 
the  ancients.  The  remembrance  of  the  completion  of  the  work  of  creation 
on  the  seventh  day  was  preserved  by  the  honour  in  which  the  seventh  day 
was  held,  not  only  among  the  Greeks  and  Italians,  as  we  learn  from  Josephus, 
Philo,  TibuUus,  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  and  Lucian  (and,  as  is  manifest, 
among  the  Hebrews),  hut  also  among  the  Celts  and  Indians,  by  all  of  whom 
time  was  divided  by  weeks,  as  Philostratus,  Dion  Cassius,  and  Justin  Mar- 
tyr inform  us,  and  as  the  most  ancient  names  of  the  days  do  show.  From 
the  Egyptians  we  learn  that  man's  life  at  the  beginning  was  simple  or  in- 
nocent, and  that  his  body  was  naked ;  hence  the  golden  age  of  the  poets, 
which,  according  to  Sirabo,  was  celebrated  by  the  Indians.  Maimonides 
remarked  that  the  history  of  Adam,  of  Eve,  of  the  tree,  and  of  the  serpent, 
existed  in  his  time  among  the  idolatrous  Indians ;  and  witnesses  likewise 
of  our  own  age  testify  that  the  same  tradition  exists  among  the  inhabitants 
of  Peru  and  of  the  Philippian  Islands,  who  derived  their  origin  from  India ; 
that  the  name  of  Adam  is  found  among  the  Brahmins,  and  that  the  Siamese 
reckon  6000  years  since  the  creation  of  the  world.  Berosus  in  his  history 
of  the  Chaldeans,  Manetho  in  that  of  the  Egyptians,  Haestiaeus,  Hecataeus, 
Halbanicus  in  their  histories  of  Greece,  and  Hesiod  among  the  poets,  have 
related  that  the  life  of  those  who  were  descended  of  the  first  men  extended 
to  nearly  a  thousand  years,  which  is  the  less  incredible,  as  the  histories  of 
a  great  many  nations,  and  especially  Pausanias  and  Philostratus  among  the 
Greeks,  and  Pliny  among  the  Romans,  relate  that  the  bodies  of  men  in  an- 
cient times  were  much  larger,  as  was  found  by  opening  the  tombs.  Catul- 
lus, following  many  of  the  Greek  writers,  relates  that  divine  visions  ap- 
E eared  to  man  before  the  frequency  and  enormity  of  his  offences  secluded 
im  from  converse  with  the  Deity  and  his  angels.  The  savage  life  of  the 
giants  mentioned  by  Moses  is  almost  everywhere  spoken  of  by  the  Greek 
writers,  and  some  of  the  Roman.  Concerning  the  deluge  it  is  to  be  re- 
marked, that  the  traditions  of  all  nations,  even  of  those  which  were  long  un- 
known, and  have  been  recently  discovered,  terminate  in  its  history ;  whence 
also  all  that  time  was  called  unknown  by  Varro.     And  what  we  read  in  the 

fioets,  mystified  by  the  license  of  fable,  the  most  ancient  writers  had  re- 
ated  truly,  i.  c,  agreeably  to  Moses,  viz.,  Berosus  among  the  Chaldeans, 
Abydinus  among  the  Assyrians,  who,  like  Plutarch  among  the  Greeks 
mentions  the  sending  forth  of  the  dove,  and  Lucian,  who  says  that  at  Hie 
rapolis  of  Syria  there  existed  a  very  ancient  history  both  of  the  ark,  and  of 
chosen  men  and  other  living  creatures  having  thereby  been  preserved.  At 
Molo  also  and  at  Nicholaus  Damascenus  the  same  account  prevailed,  the 
latter  of  which  had  the  name  of  ark,  as  ApoUodorus  also  relates  in  the  his- 
tory of  Deucalion.  Many  Spaniards  likewise  testify  that  in  parts  of  Amer- 
ica, Cuba,  Mechoana,  Nicaragua,  the  remembrance  of  the  deluge,  of  the 
preservation  of  animals,  and  of  the  crow  and  pigeon,  is  still  preserved  ;  and 
of  th«  deluge  itself,  in  that  part  now  called  Golden  Castile,  and  Pliny's  re- 
mark that  Joppa  was  built  before  the  flood,  informs  us  of  a  part  of  the 
world  which  was  then  inhabited.  The  place  where  the  ark  rested  after  the 
flood,  on  the  Gordyaean  mountains,  is  pointed  to  by  the  constant  tradition 
of  the  Armenians,  from  age  to  age,  till  the  present  day.  Japhet,  the  primo- 
genitor of  the  Europeans,  and  from  him  Ion,  or,  as  it  was  formerly  pro- 
nounced, Javon  of  the  Greeks,  also  Hammon  of  the  Africans,  are  names  to 
be  found  in  the  writings  of  Moses,  and  others  are  traced  by  Josephus  and 


APPENDIX.  33%, 

Other  writers  in  the  names  of  nations  and  places.  Which  of  the  poets  does 
not  mention  the  attempt  to  climb  the  heavens  ?  The  burning  of  Sodom  is 
recorded  by  Diodorus  Siculus,  Strabo,  Tacitus,  Pliny,  and  Solenius.  He- 
rodotus, Diodorus,  Strabo,  and  Philo  Biblius  bear  testimony  to  the  very 
ancient  custom  of  circumcision,  which  was  practised  among  the  descend 
ants  of  Abraham ;  not  the  Hebrews  only,  but  also  the  Idumeans,  Ishmaelites, 
and  others.  The  history  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and  Joseph,  in  accord 
ance  with  that  of  Moses,  formerly  existed  in  Philo  Biblms,  taken  from  Sm- 
choniathon  in  Bero^s,  Hecatseus,  Damascenus,  Artaphanus,  Eupolinflw, 
Demetrius,  and  partly  in  the  very  ancient  writers  of  the  Orphic  songs,  and 
something  of  it  is  still  extant  in  Justin,  taken  from  Trogus  Pompeius.  In 
almost  all  these  there  is  also  a  history  of  Moses  and  his  actions.  For  the 
Orphic  songs  expressly  mention  that  he  was  drawn  out  of  the  water,  and 
that  two  tables  were  given  him  from  God.  To  these  we  may  add  Pole- 
mon,  and  not  a  few  things  relating  to  the  departure  out  of  Egypt,  frorn  the 
Egyptian  writers  Manetho,  Lysimachus,  and  Chaeremon.  Nor  can  it  ap- 
pear credible  to  any  prudent  man,  that  Moses,  to  whom  both  the'Egyptians 
and  many  other  nations,  as  the  Idumeans,  Arabians,  and  Phoenicians,  were 
hostile,  would  have  dared  to  speak  openly  of  the  origin  of  the  world  and  of 
the  most  ancient  events,  which  could  be  refuted  either  by  former  writings, 
or  was  opposed  to  the  ancient  and  popular  belief,  or  that  he  would  have 
published  what  happened  in  his  own  time,  which  many  then  alive  could 
have  disproved.  Diodorus  Siculus,  Strabo,  Pliny,  also  Tacitus,  and  after 
them  Dionysius  Longinus  (on  the  Sublime)  all  speak  of  Moses.  Besides 
the  Talmuds,  Pliny  and  Apoleius  mention  also  Jamnes  and  Mambres,  who 
resisted  Moses  in  Egypt.  Many  things  are  found  in  the  Pythagorean  wri- 
tings about  the  rites  given  by  Moses,  and  also  some  things  in  other  writers 
Strabo  and  Justin,  out  of  Trogus,  particularly  bear  witness  to  the  religion 
and  justice  of  the  ancier)*  Tews,  &c. 


Nu.  IV.— See  p.  98,  99. 

EXTRACT   FROM    PLAYFAIR's   OUTLINES   OF    NATURAL   PHILOSOPHY. 

By  comparing  very  distant  observations,  it  is  found  that  the  line  of  the 
apsides,  or  the  longer  axis  of  the  sun's  orbit,  has  a  progressive  motion,  or  a 
motion  eastward  ;  so  that  the  apsis  recedes  from  the  vernal  equinox  62'',  or 
by  De  Lambre's  Tables  6I"-9  annually. 

a.  This  motion  includes  the  precession  of  the  equinoctial  points,  which 
IS  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  amounts  to  50"-25  ;  so  that  the  real  motion 
of  the  apsides  eastward,  in  respect  of  the  fixed  stars,  is  U"-65  a  year,  or 
19.4"'l-6  in  a  century. 

b.  Hence  there  is  a  difference  between  the  tropical  year  or  the  time  of 
the  sun's  revolution  from  equinox  to  equinox,  and  what  is  called  the  anom- 
tlistic  year,  or  the  time  of  the  sun's  revolution  from  either  apsis  to  the 
same  apsis  again.  As  the  apsis  has  gone  in  the  same  direction  with  the 
sun  over  62"  in  a  year,  the  sun  must  come  to  the  place  where  the  apsis  was 
at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  and  must  move  over  62"  more  before  the  anom- 
ahstic  year  is  completed.  The  time  required  to  this  is  -01748  of  a  day, 
which,  added  to  the  tropical  year,  gives  365'i.259,744,  or  365<i,  &^,  14m,2«for 
the  anomalistic— Bjo<.  Astron.,  tom.  ii.,  ^  91. 

c.  The  hne  of  the  apsides,  thus  continually  moving  round,  must  at  one 
period  have  coincided  with  the  line  of  the  equinoxes.  The  lower  apsis  or 
perigee  in  1750  was  278°-6211  from  the  vernal  equinox,  according  to  La 
Caille;  and  the  higher  apsis  was,  therefore,  at  the  distance  of  98°-6211. 
The  time  required  to  move  over  this  arch,  at  the  rate  of  62"  annually,  is 
about  5722  years,  which  goes  back  nearly  4000  before  our  era  ;  a  period  re- 
markable for  being  that  to  which  chronologists  refer  the  creation  of  the  world.     At 


334  APPENDIX. 

that  period,  the  length  of  time  during  which  the  sun  was  in  the  northern 
signs,  thai  is,  on  the  north  side  of  the  equator,  was  precisely  the  same  with 
that  on  which  he  was  on  the  south,  each  be^ng  exactly  half  a  year.  At 
present,  the  apogee,  where  the  sun's  motion  is  slowest,  being  m  the  ninth 
degree  of  Cancer,  more  time  by  T**,  IC*,  30™,  8*  is  consumed  m  the  northern 
than  in  the  southern  signs ;  so  great  is  the  change  which  the  motion  of  the 
apsides  has  produced.  About  464  years  ago,  the  apogee  was  in  the  begin- 
BMT  of  Cancer. 

^^The  motion  of  the  sun's  apsides  bemg  19'  4"  in  a  century  with  respect 
to  the  fixed  stars,  it  requires  a  period  of  more  than  108,000  years  to  com- 
plete their  siderial  revolution.  Their  tropical  revolution  is  20,903  years.— 
Playfair's  Outlines  of  Natural  Philosophy,  vol.  ii.,  p  ,  114-116. 


^  No.  v.— See  p.  106. 

"  It  is  necessary  to  state  the  independent  authorities  on  which  this  re- 
markable and  consistent  series  of  dates  is  grounded.  I.  The  epoch  of  the 
kingdom  of  Babylon,  which  we  venture  to  call  the  Chaldean  era  of  the  dis- 
persion, results  from  the  1903  years'  observations  which  Simplicius  tells  us 
were  discovered  on  the  taking  of  Babylon  by  Alexander,  and  transmitted 
by  Callisthenes  to  his  preceptor  Aristotle,  compared  with  the  720,000  days, 
or  1971  years  of  observations  inscribed  on  titles,  which,  according  to  Epigenes 
cited  by  Pliny,  were  noted  in  the  Chaldean  annals.  These  annals  were 
dedicated  by  their  author,  Berosus,  to  Antiochus  Theos,  whose  reign  com- 
menced B.C.  262  ;  and  ascending  from  that  date,  the  series  of  Epigenes 
point  to  the  same  commencement  with  that  of  Callisthenes,  reckoned  up- 
ward from  B.C.  330.  The  earlier  Chaldean  dates,  which  suppose  an  in- 
tercalary cycle  of  1440  years  to  have  preceded  the  astronomical  era  of  Bab- 
ylon, are  given  on  the  authority  of  Alexander  Polyhistor,  a  copyist  of  Be- 
rosus, cited  by  Syncellus  (p.  32  and  38,  ed.  Par.).  He  estimated  the  ten 
antediluvian  reigns  at  1183  years,  and  an  interval  of  257  years  between  the 
deluge  and  the  renewal  of  the  kingdom  under  Enechous,  or  the  second  Be- 
lus.  II.  The  Chinese  series  are  from  the  annals  produced  by  the  fathers 
Martinius  and  Couplet,  which  are  invariably  dated  in  the  years  of  saxage- 
nary  cycles,  of  which  the  series  is  complete.  These  annals  mention  a  par- 
tial deluge  in  the  reign  of  Yao  (the  contemporary  of  Noah,  Hisuthrus,  and 
Chronus,  according  to  the  Hebrew,  the  Chaldean,  and  the  Egyptian  sys- 
tems), from  whom  their  authentic  history  is  supposed  by  the  English  liter- 
ati to  conunence.  III.  The  first  series  of  Indian  dates  are  those  which 
are  stated  in  the  Graho  Munjari  quoted  by  Mr.  Bentley  {Asiatic  Researches, 
vol.  viii.)  The  first  supposes  the  renewal  of  the  world  at  the  expiration  of 
a  great  cycle,  and  the  second  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  Megadha,  at 
the  end  of  the  historical  Satya  age  of  960  years.  IV.  The  second  series 
represent  the  commencement  of  the  Cali  Yuga,  the  admitted  Hindoo  era  of 
the  deluge,  and  the  epoch  of.the  kingdom  of  Ayodhya  or  Oude,  and  of  the 
appearance  of  the  first  Buddha,  when  1000  years  of  the  Cali  age  had  ex- 
pired. This  latter  will  be  found  to  fall  in  with  the  time  of  Thoih  or  Atho- 
thes,  the  son  of  Mison,  the  first  Hermes  of  the  Egyptians,  who  may  have 
been  the  same  with  the  first  Buddha,  a  synchronism  in  connexion  with  the 
origin  of  the  most  ancient  Egyptian  and  Indian  temple.s,  on  which  our  pres- 
ent limits  will  not  allow  us  to  dilate.  V.  The  Assyrian  era  is  that  of  the 
ancients  generally  ;  1995  years  before  the  conquest  of  Antiochus  the  Great 
by  the  Romans,  B.C.  190,  according  to  Omihus  Lura,  cited  by  Paterculus  ; 
and  1342  years  before  the  overthrow  of  the  Assyrian  empire  by  Arbaces  the 
Mede,  according  to  Castor  Rhodius  ;  tlie  first  year  of  Arbaces  being  fixed 
to  B.C.  843  by  Paterculus,  Africanus,  and  Cedrenus,  Ctesias  and  Cepha- 
lon  make  the  foundation  of  this  empire  to  have  preceded  the  taking  of 
Troy  1000  yeara     All  these  reckonings  point  to  B.C.  2185-3  for  the  ac- 


APPENDIX.  335 

cession  of  Belus  Assyrius,  the  Asshur  of  Gen.  x..  11.  VI.  The  Greek  se- 
ries results  from  the  date  of  Ogygian  flood,  as  fixed  by  Varro,  sixteen  cen- 
turies before  the  first  Olympiad,  and  the  era  of  the  little  kingdom  of  Sicyon, 
with  whose  monarchs  Varro  commences  his  chronology,  as  we  learn  from 
Augustine.  The  latter  is  referred  by  Castor,  cited  by  Eusebius,  to  the  fif- 
teenth year  of  the  Assyrian  empire.  This  state  ended  immediately  before 
the  Trojan  war,  as  appears  by  comparing  the  notices  of  Homer  and  Pausa- 
nias ;  and  its  period,  692  years,  according  to  Castor,  exactly  coincides  with 
this  account.  We  introduce  the  era  of  Sicyon  in  consequence  of  its  con- 
sistency, and  because  it  is  the  only  Saphalian  date  which  apphes  to  the 
general  origin  of  kingdoms.  Ogialeus,  to  whom  the  foundation  of  Sicyon, 
and  the  earliest  name  of  the  Morean  peninsula  are  ascribed,  may  fairly  be 
supposed  to  represent  the  Elisha  of  Gen.  x.,  4,  &c.  Vll.  The  Egyptian 
dates  of  the  gods,  demigods,  and  monarchy,  result  from  the  fragment  of 
the  old  Egyptian  chronicle  preserved  by  Syncellus.  The  author  of  this 
work,  probably  the  contemporary  of  Manetho,  professes  to  have  deduced  it 
from  the  Hermaic  book,  the  source  of  Manetho's  history,  and  on  that  au- 
thority refers  the  dynasties  to  the  years  of  the  canicular  period,  regarding 
the  epochs  of  which  Censorinus  and  Theon  have  left  us  in  no  doubt.  The 
correspondence  of  the  Egyptian  era  thus  obtained,  with  our  former  results 
from  Diodorus,  Eratosthenes,  and  other  writers,  leaves  nothing  to  be  de- 
sired on  this  head." — Foreign  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  xii.,  p.  384,  &c. 


No.  VI.— See  p.  166. 

C.    PLINIUS   TRAJANO  IMP.    S, 

Solenne  est  mihi,  Domine,  omnia  de  quibus,  dubito,  ad  te  retferre.  Quis 
enim  potest  melius  vel  cunctationem  meam  regere,  vel  ignorantiam  instru- 
ere  ?  Cognationibus  Christianorum  interfui  nunquam.  Ideo  nescio  quid 
et  quatenus  ant  puniri  soleat,  aut  quaeri.  Nee  mediocriter  hsesitari,  sitne 
aliquod  discrimen  aetatum,  an  quamlibet  teneri  nihil  a  robustioribus  diffe- 
rant :  deturne  poenitentise  venia,  an  si  qui  omnine  Christianus  fuit,  desiisse 
non  prosit,  nomen  ipsum,  etiamsi  flagitiis  careat,  an  flagitia  cohaerantia  no- 
mini  puniantur.  Interim  in  iis  qui  ad  me  tanquam  Christiani  deferebantur, 
hunc  sum  secutus  modum.  Interrogavi  ipsos,  an  essent  Christiani.  Con- 
fitentes  iterum  ac  tertio  interrogavi,  supplicium  minatus :  perseverantes  duci 
jussi.  Neque  enim  dubitabam  qualecunque  esset  quod  faterentur,  pervica- 
ciam  certe,  et  inflexibilem  obstinationem  debere  puniri.  Fuerunt  alii  sim 
ilis  amentiae  :  quos  quia  cives  Romani  erant,  annotavi  in  urbem  remitten 
dos.  Mox  ipsi  tractu  (al.  tractatu),  ut  fieri  solet,  diffundente  se  crimine, 
plures  species  inciderunt.  Propositus  est  libellus  sine  auctore,  multorum 
nomina  continens,  qui  neg^runt  se  esse  Christianos,  aut  fuisse,  quum  proe- 
eunte  me,  Deos  appellarent,  et  imagini  tuse  quam  propter  hoc  jusseramcum 
simulacris  numinum  aiferri,  vino  ac  thure  sacrificarent,  prsterea  maledice- 
rent  Christo ;  quorum  nihil  cogi  posse  dicuntur,  qui  sunt  revera  Christiani. 
Ergo  dimittendos  putavi.  Alii  ab  indice  nominati,  esse  se  Christiani  dixe 
runt,  et  mox  negaverunt ;  fuisse  quidem,  sed  desiisse,  quidam  ante  trien 
nium,  quidam  ante  plures  annos,  non  nemo  etiam  ante  viginti  quoque.  Cm 
nes  et  imaginem  tuam,  deorumque  simulacra,  venerati  stmt.  li  et  Christo 
maledixerunt.  Aflarmabant  autem,  hanc  fuisse  summam  vel  culpae  sus, 
vel  erroris,  quod  essent  soliti  stato  die  ant"e"lucem  convenire,  carmenque 
Christo,  quasi  Deo,  dicere  secum  invicem  ;  seque  Sacramento  non  in  scelus 
aliquod  obstringere,  sed  ne  furta,  ne  latrocinia,  ne  adulteria  committerent, 
ne  fidem  fallerent,  ne  depositum  appellati  abnegarent;  quibus  peractis, 
morem  sibi  discedendi  fuisse,  rursusque  coeundi  ad  capiendum  cibum,  pro- 
miscuum  tamen,  et  innoxium  ;  quod  et  ipsum  facere  desiisse  post  edictum 
meuin,  quo-'secundum  mandata  tua  hetaerias  esse  veiueram.    Quo  magis 


336  APPENDIX. 

necessarium  credidi,  ex  duabus  ancillis,  quae  ministri  dicebanlur,  quid  es- 
set  veri  et  per  tormenta  quaerere.  Sed  nihil  aliud  inveni,  quarn  superstition- 
em  pravam  et  immodicam.  Ideoque  delata  cognitione  ad  consulendum  td 
decurri.  Visa  est  enim  res  dignaconsultatione,  maxime  propter  periclitan- 
tium  numerum.  Multi  enim  onrmis  aetatis,  utriusque  sexus  etiam,  vocan- 
tur  in  periculum  et  vocabuntur.  Neque  enim  civitates  tantum,  sed  vices 
etiam  et  agros  superstitionis  istius  contagiu  pervagata  est.  Qua;  videtur 
sisti  et  corrigi  posse  certe  satis  constat,  prope  etiam  desoiata  templa  coe- 
pisse  celebrari,  et  sacra  solennia  diu  intermissa  repeti ;  passimque  vaenire 
victimas,  quarum  adhuc  rarissimus  emptor  inveniebatur.  Ex  quo  facile  est 
opinari,  quae  turba  hominuni  emendari  possit,  si  sit  poenitentiae  locus. — Plin. 
Epist.,  lib.  X.,  ep.  97. 

TRAJANUS   PLINIO,  8. 

Actum  quem  debuisti,  mi  Secunde,  in  executiendis  causis  eorum  qui 
Christiani  ad  te  dilati  fuerant,  secutus  es.  Neque  enim  in  univer*um  ali- 
quid,  quod  quasi  certam  formam  habeat  constitui  potest.  Conquirendi  non 
sunt.  Si  deferantur,  si  arguantur,  puniendi  sunt :  ita  tamen,  ut  qui  nega- 
verit  se  Christianum  esse,  idque  se  ips4  manifestum  fecerit,  id  est,  suppli- 
cando  diis  noetris,  qauamvis  suspectus  in  praeteritum  fuerit,  veniam  ex  po- 
enitentid  impetret.  Sine  auctore  vero  propositi  libelli,  nullo  in  crimin«, 
locum  habere  debent.  Nam  et  pessimi  exempli,  nee  nostri  seculi  est. — Pl'v 
Epist.,  lib.  c,  ep.  98. 


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